


Counterplay

by alexandra_emerson



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Death Eater Draco Malfoy, Drinny - Freeform, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Harmony - Freeform, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Horcrux Hunting, Horcruxes, Legilimency (Harry Potter), Minor Character Death, Minor Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Occlumency (Harry Potter), POV Ginny Weasley, POV Hermione Granger, POV Voldemort (Harry Potter), Plot Twists, Spy Draco Malfoy, The Deathly Hallows, Violence, Wartime Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:36:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 70,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29734683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexandra_emerson/pseuds/alexandra_emerson
Summary: What if Harry, Hermione, and Ron were saved from the Snatchers in the 7th book? This is an alternate ending to the series with Harmony, Drinny, and a lot of twists and turns.“Shite. How am I supposed to get out of this?” “Counterplay.” “What?” “Attack, threaten, do anything you need to regain the advantage. That’s your side’s motto, isn’t it? Fight at all costs?” “Our side, Draco.”
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Harry Potter, Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley
Comments: 47
Kudos: 58





	1. The Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome! This story picks up in the middle of the seventh book, right when the Snatchers have cornered Harry, Ron, and Hermione. There are slight differences, but all the major plots points and details with the hallows and horcruxes up to this point are the same.
> 
> Rating: This story is rated M for language, violence, and sex. No trigger warnings apply.
> 
> Logistics: The story will be updated every two days, unless real life gets crazy and I get behind on writing. Fingers crossed. I have no idea how long it will be, I'll go ahead and guess around 30 chapters for now, but we shall see.

**Part 1 - Opening**

" _The opening sets the tone for the whole game. You can go on the attack, or the defensive. Play by the book, or completely off the wall. It's all set up in the first few moves."_

_She nodded, studying the chess board in front of them. "How do you prefer to start?"_

" _That's a very personal question," he replied, curtly._

" _Personal?" she rolled her eyes. "You are so touchy."_

" _A person's opening can tell you a lot about them. Are they pragmatic? Hopeful and naive? Short sighted? Ambitious? A realist?" he paused, before adding with a smirk, "Or, maybe, a masochist?"_

" _Which one are you?"_

" _Have you not figured it out by now? I'd hoped you were sharper."_

_She studied him carefully, then said with a smirk, "And in those words, you reveal a little about yourself, I think."_

_He returned her smirk. "Good. You're learning."_

* * *

**Chapter 1 - The Rescue**

_April 1998 - English Countryside_

"Come out of there with your hands up!" a raspy voice calls from outside the tent. Harry and Ron are sitting completely still, probably frozen in shock, like Hermione, but she can't make out their expressions in the dark.

"We know you're in there!" the voice calls again. "You've got half a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!"

"Can we disapparate?" Harry whispers.

Hermione shakes her head, then realizes he might not be able to see her and adds in a whisper, "No. Not with the wards I put up." She starts silently cursing herself. It seemed like a good idea to put up anti-apparition wards, at the time, but now she sees the flaw in setting up something that allowed them to get trapped like this.

Her mind is racing as she tries to plan the best course of action, but she's never been good at thinking under stress. That is Harry's expertise. Her thoughts keep drifting back to the Horcruxes.

They'd just destroyed the locket, but they still had three more: the cup, the snake, and something of Ravenclaw's. Who would know to go after those if they were killed? They should have had a contingency plan. But even as she thinks this, she knows it's unhelpful. She needs to think of ideas to get them out of their current predicament.

Hermione sees Harry shift in his seat on her left. Harry. She refocuses on him. He is the most important one out of all of them. She needs to protect him. It doesn't matter if she and Ron are captured, as long as Harry makes it out safely. An insane idea pops into her head as the shadow of a figure outside appears on the canvas wall of the tent.

"Okay, I'll throw this powder and-" Harry is saying, but she's not listening. She's trying to think through any possible drawbacks from what she's planning, then gives it up and scolds herself for overthinking things.

Hermione points her wand at Harry and casts a silent stinging jinx. Harry lets out a startled cry of pain, which prompts the man outside to finally open the flap of the tent. Hermione watches Harry stand up and for a second, she thinks he means to tackle the man, who is only visible as a shadow in the doorway. But instead, he throws something and in a moment everything is dark.

"Run, you two!" Harry hisses.

Hermione stumbles toward the entrance and collides with the man. She struggles out of his grasp, then feels someone pull her outside. It's Ron. "Run that way!" he yells, shoving her away from him.

The rest of the wizards outside are yelling and swearing. She hears a few of them try to cast _Lumos,_ but knows it won't work. She runs as hard as she can, hoping she doesn't collide with anything, as she tries to get to the edge of the cloud of the Peruvian darkness powder Harry had thrown.

As she runs, she realizes a stinging jinx to the face probably wasn't the most helpful for someone trying to run away without tripping on anything. She was sure they had no chance at escape, so wanted to disguise Harry. But she may have taken away his shot at getting away.

She throws the thought from her mind and moves her attention to her feet pounding on the ground. She's finally starting to see silhouettes of shrubs spread sparsely around the field and is moving to avoid them as she runs. She needs to get away. She can consider the stupidity of her stinging jinx later.

Once Hermione is out of danger, she can circle back and save Ron and Harry, but she'll be no good to them if she's captured. She hears someone running behind her, several paces back. She throws a stunning spell over her shoulder, but unfortunately her pursuer doesn't drop to the ground.

She chances a look back and almost stops in shock. It's a Death Eater. What is a Death Eater doing with a group of Snatchers? She faces forward and tries to stretch her legs farther, to lengthen her strides. But this person, whoever they are, has longer legs than her and is quickly closing the distance between them.

 _Think, Hermione, think!_ She won't be able to outrun the Death Eater. She needs to beat them another way. Before she can decide on a better course of action, the Death Eater hits her ankle with some spell that feels like a rope pulling it out from under her.

Hermione falls to the ground and her attacker quickly disarms her. So much for her grand escape.

She scrambles to a sitting position and waits for the Death Eater to cast a binding spell. But they don't. They approach her slowly, then stop a foot away and growl down at her, "Get up, Granger."

Hermione crawls back, but her movement is stopped by a tree. She knows this voice. She's heard it for six years straight and would recognize it anywhere. But what is _he_ doing here? Shouldn't he be at Hogwarts?

"I said, get up," he repeats, obviously annoyed.

She lunges for his legs, planning to tackle him and take back her wand, but she collides with a shield charm and cries out as she's pushed back.

He drops his mask and glares at her and she recoils at the sight of his familiar scowl. Before she can think of something adequate to say to express the hatred she feels toward him, he's crouching at her side, pulling her to her feet, roughly.

"Let go of me!" she cries, stepping back from him.

"Shut up!" he hisses. "I'm here to help you. So stop fighting me and come help me recuse your idiot friends."

He turns back the way they'd run and she watches him, flabbergasted. There is no way he means to help them. This is obviously a trap of some sort. When he's ten feet away, she realizes she's free, and can run the other way. But he has her wand. She won't get far without that.

She marches behind him up a slight hill, but stays several feet back.

"Why would you help us? I know you serve You-Know-Who."

He ignores her and keeps walking. She sighs and follows him. "Give me back my wand."

"No. Now shut up, or I'll silence you."

As he walks, she sees him tightening and loosening his grip on both their wands, over and over again. She wonders if this is a sign of nerves.

"What are you doing with a group of Snatchers?"

He stops abruptly and she almost runs into him. "That wasn't an idle threat, earlier. I _will_ silence you," he hisses.

This time, she listens to him, but only because she hears the faint sound of voices up ahead. As they get closer, she can hear several men arguing. She and her captor (or maybe rescuer?) stop just outside the clearing, hidden behind a large tree. Hermione sees four men surrounding Harry and Ron, who are sitting on the ground, bound, in the middle of the clearing, next to the tent.

Her stomach drops. They hadn't managed to get away. She'd hoped at least one of them would. But they were too outnumbered. She recognizes one of the men as Greyback and her stomach turns.

"You're up." She jumps when she feels the Death Eater's breath on her neck. When had he gotten so close to her?

He leans away and she turns to face him. He'd put his Death Eater mask back on and she wonders why. Do the Snatchers not know his identity? "What?" she whispers.

"Run through there, as fast as you can," he motions toward a path to their left, "yelling for your friends. Not by name, obviously. It will draw a few of them away and give me a chance to stun the rest."

"Are you mad?"

"Would you rather me bind you up right now and walk you in there, tell them who all of you are, and hand you over to the Dark Lord?"

She wishes he'd take his mask off, so she can see his face, but knows it won't help. He has that ability to mask his emotions that she's never learned. "Why should I trust you? After everything?"

"Because you don't have a choice. Now go."

She bites her lip and looks back at the men huddled in the center of the clearing. One of the Snatchers kicks Ron in the ribs and she winces. This is her best shot at saving her friends, even if it is mad. She turns back to the Death Eater, then nods before running along the path, shouting as she goes.

Two men follow her, and it doesn't take them long to catch her. To her dismay, it's Greyback who comes after her and he insists on holding her close to him as he walks her back toward the tent. She is trembling as they walk and bile rushes into her mouth as she catches a rancid smell wafting off the werewolf.

When they get back to the clearing, everyone is stunned, including Harry, Ron, and her unlikely rescuer.

"What the-" Greyback starts to ask, when she sees a barely perceptible flick of the wand from the Death Eater and a stream of red hits Greyback in the chest. The Snatcher on her other side is distracted by Greyback and doesn't see the next attack coming. He falls to the ground as the Death Eater stands back up.

Hermione goes to check on Harry and Ron, and confirms quickly that they are both fine, just stunned. She sits on her heels and watches the Death Eater crouch next to every Snatcher, saving Greyback for last. He's performing memory charms. She stays in place, since there isn't much she can do; he's still holding her wand in his hand.

Should she try to escape? Maybe he just wanted to get them away from the Snatchers so he could deliver them to Voldemort himself? Or maybe he intended something worse? Or was it possible he was actually on their side?

When he's done, he drops his mask and walks back to her. She quickly gets to her feet and straightens her spine. This is it. She's about to find out if this rescue is real, or if he has something worse planned for them. When he gets to her, he regards her for a moment, then looks down at Harry and Ron.

"Stinging jinx?" he drawls.

She nods. Her heart is pounding so hard, she wonders if he can hear it.

"Clever," he says. Then he turns to her and holds out her wand for her to take. "You need to be more careful. There is a taboo on the Dark Lord's name."

She carefully grips her wand, half-expecting him to snatch it back, but he lets her take it. She considers hexing him, but his wand is in his hand and he is watching her carefully, probably expecting that.

"Why did you help us? You hate Harry."

Her grip on her wand tightens when he reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a small object and his gaze softens as he looks down at it. She sees the remnant of tenderness in his eyes when he looks back up at her, but it's gone so quickly, she wonders if she imagined it.

"I didn't do it for Potter," he snarls. "I did it for her." He tosses the object at Hermione and she fumbles with it, then looks down, curiously. Before she can ask any more questions, she hears the rustle of robes. He is running away and she's trying to decide if she should go after him when he finally reaches the edge of the ward and she hears the pop of disapparition.

* * *

_One year later - Grimmauld Place_

_Lately, I've been thinking about the complicated nature of time. More specifically, how even the smallest actions can have huge effects on the future._

_I've been wondering if there's some step we missed along the way, something we could have done to end the war. And now that we've missed it - is it too late? Or can we win another way?_

_For example, what if we hadn't been saved from the Snatchers? We likely would have been brought to Malfoy Manor. We know now Luna was locked up there. If we'd been brought there, could we have found a way to save her? Or would we all have been killed along with her?_

_What if Severus had never given me those memories? The ones that proved he was on our side the whole time. Would that have changed the outcome in any way?_

_Those were big moments. But what about smaller ones? What if Ron had never left? What if he hadn't come back? Would Harry and I-_

"Hermione!"

Hermione looks up from her journal and finds the very person she was thinking about calling her name. She closes the book and seals it shut as Harry takes the spot next to her on the couch.

"What were you writing about? Anything good?"

Hermione shrugs. "The complicated nature of time. And cause and effect."

"Sounds heavy," he says with a smile.

She nods and watches him lay his head back on the couch. "Sorry to interrupt," he says. "We have a meeting in a few minutes."

"Yes. Thanks."

"It's not like I have anything to say - I may as well not be there," he continues, in a dejected tone. "They'll report more deaths, then look at me expectantly, while I say, 'No update.'"

Hermione places a comforting hand on his leg, unsure what else to say.

"I can hear Kingsley now," he continues. "'It's been a year. Still no progress? Have you tried this, do you need that?' All the while, thinking, 'Was Dumbledore wrong to trust this boy?'"

"He wasn't wrong, Harry," Hermione says, insistently. "You're doing the best you can in an impossible situation."

She knows he's been having a harder time than usual lately, after receiving news of Lupin's death a month ago. Lupin had left a one-year-old boy behind without a father, and Hermione knows this reminds Harry of himself.

Everyone else in the Order is fighting, but their assignment is to stay out of the way so they can find and destroy the two remaining Horcruxes. Ginny joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione since Hogwarts didn't reopen after Harry managed to break in and take Ravenclaw's diadem. But no one else joined their group. Everyone else is too busy keeping the world from crumbling, and Harry is jealous he can't be there to help. He can't stand the inaction of his role, but understands the importance of it.

After nearly getting captured by Snatchers a year ago, they abandoned the camping idea and reached out to Kingsley for help in setting up a safer, more permanent home. He suggested Grimmauld Place, since it was protected by powerful, ancient magic and he thought it was the last place the Death Eaters would look for them.

Kingsley and McGonagall helped them reinforce the wards and they'd been living here safely ever since. Order members would come for meetings every other week and they used the upstairs parlor to store Potions and other supplies, but otherwise, the Horcrux Hunters (as the others called them) had the house to themselves. Kreacher died of old age a few months ago, so they didn't even have him for company anymore.

"We should go," Hermione says, as she checks her watch.

Harry is silent. He is still sitting with his head laid back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. She sees that his eyes look haunted, then he sits up and she watches his face turn blank. He's getting better at that. As she thinks this, her heart breaks. He shouldn't bury his emotions, but she knows he must, otherwise the weight of them might paralyze him.

In the meeting, Kingsley gives an update on Voldemort. He is still upholding the statute of secrecy, though there have been grumblings among his followers. They want wizards to take a stand and put Muggles in their rightful place.

Hermione is watching Harry. He looks worse than usual. She wonders if she should insist he take a Dreamless Sleep potion tonight. She notices that everyone at the table has gone quiet. They are looking at her. Right. They're waiting for her report.

"Kingsley's right," she starts. "One of my informants confirmed that the lower level Death Eaters are getting restless. One of them (I forget the name now, but have it written down if you need it) brought it up to Bellatrix last week and was killed on the spot for speaking against You-Know-Who."

Hermione sees Ron and Ginny exchange a knowing glance and tries to ignore it. She takes a deep breath before continuing.

"Sev-" she pauses and corrects herself. "Snape says the same as always and has nothing new to report. You-Know-Who is still obsessed with killing Harry and believes to do so, he needs to get control of the Elder Wand and find the Seer. He's assigned Lucius Malfoy to solving the problem with the wand ownership and Bellatrix Lestrange to finding and killing the Seer."

Kingsley turns to Harry. "How was your last visit to Trelawny?"

A few months ago, Voldemort became obsessed with Divination. He figured the original prophecy was what got him into his predicament with Harry, so a new one would get him out of it.

At the time, Ron had joked about Voldemort looking into crystal balls and reading tea leaves, but the truth of what he was doing was more sinister. He captured a herd of centaurs and personally tortured each one, demanding they tell them how to kill Harry.

All he got out of them was one vague piece of information. They said Harry had a Seer on his side and without her, he wouldn't win.

The only Seer they knew of was Trelawny, but they had no idea how she was supposed to help Harry. Professor Vector, Hermione's former Arithmancy professor, was staying with her, ready to bear witness in case Trelawny gave another real prophecy, but so far, she'd said nothing of value.

Harry also visited her every few weeks, but said she was giving the same old false readings and that he highly doubted the outcome of the war would come down to the contributions of an old bat like her.

The topic turns to their secret informant.

For over six months, they've been receiving notes (sent directly to Harry by owl) from someone in Voldemort's inner circle. The notes contained invaluable information that sometimes even Severus wasn't aware of. Ron joked that maybe Voldemort himself was the secret informant and though it sounded insane, sometimes it seemed like the only logical explanation - given how accurate the information was.

Also, in some battles, when they went to collect the fallen wizards from their side, a seemingly dead person woke up a few hours later. It took them a while to figure out that someone on the other side was casting fake killing curses that stunned, instead of killed, the victims.

They had no idea if the person casting the fake killing curses and the one sending the notes were the same. They also had no idea who it could be, though Hermione had a suspicion. She tried her best not to think about it, though. She was lousy with Occlumency, so if she was captured, she didn't want the Death Eaters to read the information in her mind.

 _That's what the necklace is for_ , she thinks to herself, absentmindedly fingering its gold chain.

Severus gave her this necklace after she became his handler. It was how they communicated. It wasn't until after two months of working with her, that he told her what the red pendant at the center did. He said if she was ever captured, she was to bite down hard on the red jewel. It would release a poison that would kill her instantly.

She hasn't told the others about the poison. She knows they won't understand.

"Snape doesn't think it can be just one person," Hermione says. "He says unless the informant is Lucius or Bellatrix, the information is too good to be coming from one source."

Kingsley nods and she sees Ron mutter something about "darling Severus" to Ginny. Hermione ignores them. She knows Ron hates that she's gotten close to Severus, and especially hates that she refers to him by his given name, but it was never her desire to be his handler. It was supposed to be Harry. But they learned quickly that Severus and Harry were incapable of working together.

All the other Order members with the highest clearance level, like Kingsley, McGonagall, and Lupin, were too busy to take on the task, so Kingsley said it would have to be someone else in their group. Hermione was the only one with the proper amount of patience to manage the task.

She started calling him Severus after he told her about the poison. By that point they'd come to trust each other and Hermione found it to be a helpful way to separate the spy they relied so heavily on, with the Professor she'd hated from Hogwarts.

Harry is giving his report on the Horcruxes. He surprises everyone when he says at the end, "I'm trying to reestablish the connection with Voldemort's mind."

"Harry!" Ginny scolds, before Hermione gets a chance to. Kingsley doesn't look upset though.

"I can't get in," Harry says, disappointed. "I wonder if he knows about our secret informant and suspects it might be me, reading his mind. Either way, he's keeping the link between us closed tight."

Harry looks so weary. _Yes_ , Hermione decides. She'll insist he take that potion tonight.

After the meeting, she is in the upstairs parlor, going through the Potions stores when Harry comes into the room.

He rakes his hand through his hair, then says with a shy smile, "Hey. Uh - I know it can be addictive, but I was hoping, just this once-"

"I'm way ahead of you, Harry. You look dead on your feet. A good night's rest will do you well." Hermione removes a small vial of potion from her pocket and hands it to him.

Harry takes the potion, then places a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

_They were in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Harry was sitting up on the bed and smiled when he saw Hermione enter the room._

" _Hey," he said simply._

" _Hey," she replied, as she approached the bed._

_She raised her hand and brushed a scratch on his cheek that hadn't been healed yet._

" _Let me guess, Quidditch?"_

_He smiled widely, then turned his head and kissed her finger. "You know me so well," he said with a grin._

_She leaned in to kiss his cheek but was interrupted by a sound in the hall. She stood up quickly, taking a step back from the bed before turning to face the door._

Hermione shakes her head, trying to focus back on the Harry in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asks, his green eyes concerned. He's studying her carefully and she fears, for a moment, that he knows what she was thinking.

She smiles and drops her head, suddenly embarrassed. "I'm fine," she says to the floor. "I'm going to do a quick inventory of our Potions. You should go take that and try to sleep."

He looks down at the potion in his hand. "Okay. Good night, Hermione."

* * *

_Harry and Ron were pacing the empty sitting room, while Hermione watched them from the side, leaning against the wall and trying to stay calm. She could hear faint sounds coming from the bar downstairs._

_They all kept looking back toward the dark tunnel, waiting for someone to walk through, but it was empty and every time Hermione saw that, the ache in her heart deepened, so she stopped looking and watched Harry and Ron, instead._

_Harry stopped pacing and raking his fingers through his hair, leaving his hair standing at odd angles, which would have been funny, if the situation were different. Hermione noticed he still had the diadem on his arm._

_"I'm going back," he said to Ron._

_Hermione could tell Ron was relieved and was about to agree._

_"No," she said, stepping toward them. "We told them we'd meet them here. What if we go back and miss them? Why don't you go ahead and destroy that?" she motioned toward the diadem as she took out her bag to get the Sword of Gryffindor. "It will give you something to do."_

_Harry looked down, as if he'd forgotten about the Horcrux before now, but they were interrupted before he could say anything._

_Relief coursed through Hermione when she saw two red heads bobbing in the distance of the tunnel. As they got closer, the relief she'd been feeling disappeared. Fred and George were wearing twin expressions of fear._

_"Where's Ginny?" Harry demanded as they entered the room. They both looked at each other and frowned, as if they didn't know where to begin._

_George eventually started speaking. "They took Ginny. We were about to go after her but figured it would be better to come get help, and it would be quicker to find her with the map. We could use the cloak too."_

_Hermione could tell by Fred's expression they hadn't agreed on this course of action and she couldn't remember a time the twins hadn't been on the same page._

_"Was she hurt?" This question was from Ron._

_"She was fine," Fred replied. "Malfoy and the Carrows were dragging her off. We need the Marauder's map, Harry. It'll be quicker with the map," he said, echoing his brother._

_Harry nodded and pulled it out, handing it to Fred. "Let's go," Fred said, as he grabbed the map._

_The twins sprinted down the tunnel, but Hermione called to Harry before he could chase after them. "Wait!"_

_"What is it? We have to-"_

"Stupefy!"

_Harry crumpled to the ground. Hermione bound his wrists and rose to find Ron looking at her, dumbfounded._

_"It's too dangerous," she explained. "Harry is too important to winning this war."_

_"He's going to kill you."_

_"I don't care, let's go."_

_Hermione turned but all her limbs seized and before she fell, she felt Ron's gentle grip on her. He eased her onto a chair and brushed a curl that had fallen into her eyes behind her ear._

_"Harry can't win without you. I'll get her, she's my sister" he held up the invisibility cloak which he must have taken off of Harry. "And it'll be easier if I don't have to worry about you two," he added seriously._

_She tried to shout, but her jaw was clamped shut._

_"I'm sorry, Hermione," he kissed her on the cheek, then went to the tunnel, saying over his shoulder before he left, "Wish me luck!"_

Hermione shoots up in the bed and shouts into the dark, "Ron! Wait!"

It takes her several moments to realize she is back at Grimmauld Place. She was dreaming. She takes several steadying breaths, then looks over at Ginny's empty bed.

She must be sleeping with Harry, Hermione thinks bitterly. Then she rubs her temples. She isn't being fair, she reminds herself; she's just jealous. She's lonely and wishes she didn't have to sleep alone, especially on nights when she has nightmares.

 _Can it be called a nightmare if it actually happened?_ she wonders.

Hermione gets out of bed and puts a robe on over her pajamas, before padding down the stairs to the kitchen. She pours herself a glass of milk and leans against the counter, when she hears the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Someone else is having trouble sleeping tonight. She hopes it isn't Harry. The potion should have been enough to keep him asleep all night.

A few seconds later, Ron enters with his wand lit, jumping slightly when he first sees her.

"Hi," Hermione says as she finishes her glass and puts it in the sink.

He nods at her. "Couldn't sleep?"

She shakes her head. "I had a dream about the night Fred died."

He nods sadly. "That one keeps me up a lot."

"What kept you up tonight?" she asks.

He sighs and looks away from her, out the window. "No memories tonight. Just...the same worries as always."

She goes to the refrigerator and gets him a glass of milk, then crosses the room to hand it to him. He studies her before taking it. "You look awful."

"Whatever happened to that book about how to charm witches?" she asks teasingly. "Have you already forgotten it all?"

Ron smiles at her lame joke, then puts the glass of milk on the counter and pulls her into a hug. Hermione dips her head against his shoulder.

They'd tried dating, just after Fred died, but it ended after only two months. She didn't know if it was because of the war, his grief over Fred, or just the two of them together - but the whole relationship had felt wrong from the start. But he'd made it clear since then, that he'd sleep with her again, for comfort, if she wanted.

It had been months since she'd done that, though it's obvious by the way he is rubbing her side now, that the offer still stands.

_She was standing in this same kitchen, but it was morning. The first light of day was creeping in through the window._

_She was looking through the fridge, trying to figure out what she could put together for breakfast with the limited contents, when someone snaked their arms around her middle._

_She turned to find Harry, sleepy eyed, with hair more messy than usual._

" _Good morning," he said, before placing a soft kiss on her neck._

Hermione takes a deep breath, then steps back from Ron. She needs to turn her brain off. These thoughts about her and Harry are terribly distracting. But she never learned Occlumency. She'd ask Ginny to teach her, but doesn't want Ginny looking through her mind. This is the same reason she hasn't asked Severus.

"Are you okay?" Ron touches her cheek with the back of his hand.

She nods. "I should go back to bed. So should you."

"Yeah."

* * *

The next day, Hermione is wrapping up a tea loaf when Ron walks into the kitchen.

"Who's that for?" he asks.

Hermione sighs, puts the loaf in her bag, and turns to face Ron. "You know who it's for, Ron."

"So he has you cooking for him?"

Hermione rolls her eyes. "I was already making one for all of you, it was no bother making another." In actuality, she knows Severus will hate the loaf, but he'll let her put in his refrigerator and when she checks on him again next week, it will be gone. She thinks that as he eats it throughout the week, it'll serve as a small reminder that there are people out there who care about his well-being.

"Or maybe you were primarily making it for _him_ , and made the second one for us," Ron retorts, pulling her attention back to him.

Hermione is angry now. "I know you don't like that I'm his handler, but there was nobody else to do it. And he's given us invaluable information and risks his life everyday to-"

"That's not what I have a problem with," Ron bites back. "It's the tea loaves, and the books you share back and forth." He pauses, then says significantly, "You're _friends_ with him, Hermione."

She can tell he thought these words would have a larger impact. She just shrugs. "So what if I am? He could use a friend."

"You don't owe him anything just because he saved us from the Snatchers. You don't have to do this," Ron says, pointing toward her bag.

Hermione ignores him and goes to the front step to disapparate. "I'll be back in a few hours. Good bye, Ron."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for joining me for this new story! I had this idea to write a story centered around chess before The Queen's Gambit got so popular on Netflix. But no one believes me. Oh well.
> 
> The idea for the fake killing curse is borrowed from one of my favorite Dramione stories ever – Cruel and Beautiful World by Lena Phoria.
> 
> Thanks as always to my betas – Lancashire Witch and Kimmeh B. You can find me on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.


	2. The Spy

**Chapter 2 - The Spy**

_May 1999 - Spinner's End_

"Do you know where I can get more dittany?" Hermione asks.

Severus rolls his eyes. "They still have you cataloguing potions ingredients? What a waste."

She stops looking through the bookshelf and smirks back at him. "You flatter me."

He shakes his head and walks to the desk, where he pulls out a scrap of parchment and starts writing something with a grey quill. He hands the piece of paper to her and she looks down to find coordinates. "Where will this take me?"

"You think it's a trap?" he asks, clearly amused.

"No. I just want to be prepared."

He nods, appreciatively. "It's a forest near the border between England and Scotland. You'll be fine alone, as long as you go in the daylight."

"Thank you," she says as she pockets the scrap of parchment.

"You didn't answer my earlier question. Your primary role for the Order is to manage supplies?" he asks with a sneer.

He loves commenting on how inept the Order is. She guesses he misses being a proper member, and this is how he copes.

"We've talked about this, Severus-" she sees his eyes flash with annoyance, like they do every time she uses his given name. But he's never told her to stop. She's called him "Severus" in her head, and out loud, ever since he told her about the poison on her necklace, and he calls her by her first name, too.

"My primary role is to help Harry hunt for Horcruxes," she continues. "My secondary role is to be a handler for one of our most valuable spies. Then in my free time, I help manage the Order's inventory of potions and other supplies, mainly because they store them in the parlor at Grimmauld Place and I'm the most organized one out of the people who live there."

She sees him repressing a smirk and is glad he doesn't rattle off a taunt about Harry or Ron. He's been getting better at restraining himself.

During moments like this, she always thinks back to Harry and how badly things must have gone when he was Severus's handler. She's seen them together a few times, on the rare occasions when she had a reason to bring Harry with her, and they hate each other as much now, as they did in school.

It seemed to be worsened, somehow, by the knowledge that Severus loved Harry's mother, and that she was the reason he was fighting for their side. Harry told Hermione that although they'd never discussed the topic, it sat between them like a giant hippogriff, making all their interactions awkward.

She still wonders why Severus gave _her_ the memories, that night, almost one year ago. He could have delivered that information to the Order in a number of ways. Why had he chosen her? She's never had the nerve to ask, though.

After Hermione saw the memories and witnessed how Severus had been with Lily, and how broken he'd been after she died, she couldn't look at him the same. She still found him hard to read but sometimes, she'll look over at him and see so clearly the man who'd been desperately in love with someone who would never love him back.

"What's more important," she says to him, "is what _your_ job is. Has You-Know-Who told you his next plans for you?"

After Harry stole the diadem from Hogwarts, Voldemort closed the school in a rage and ordered Severus to map out the entire castle and find all its secret passages - specifically the one Harry had used to get inside.

Severus had taken as long as possible in his task, but eventually had to hand over the knowledge of the tunnel running between the Hog's Head and the Room of Requirement - after confirming with Hermione, that the Order had no further use for it.

Almost immediately after Severus reported to Voldemort, the dark wizard went directly to Hogwarts and burned down the Room of Requirement with Fiendfyre, ensuring it was destroyed beyond repair and would never be used again. Then he ordered Severus to prepare the castle for him, saying it would be his new headquarters soon.

Severus had taken a few more months to banish the ghosts, remove all the difficult portraits and statues, and adjust the wards to accommodate Voldemort, as best he could. He'd finished this task a month ago, but Voldemort hadn't announced any plans to move in and also hadn't given Severus his next assignment.

"You need to stay useful to him," Hermione is saying. "As soon as-"

"I know him better than you," he snaps, interrupting her. She nods. It is easy for her to forgive his sour moods. She can't imagine the stress he must be under and knows the only relief he gets are these meetings with her.

"I'm still close enough to him to be included in the meetings," Severus says. "There's nothing new to report. Just the same two obsessions: the Seer and the wand."

"No more talk of killing you, I hope." She looks at him, worried, and his harsh gaze softens. She figures no one has shown him any concern in a long time.

About a year ago, just after Severus re-established contact with the Order, Voldemort called him, forced Severus to duel him, then tortured him to within an inch of his life. Severus had been sure Voldemort had learned he was a spy. But after that day, he healed Severus himself, then explained that he'd been trying to get ownership of the Elder Wand.

Voldemort told Severus that after their duel, he was sure Severus wasn't the current master of the Elder Wand, but he hadn't explained how he knew this. After that, he assigned Lucius the task of finding the current owner of the wand and hadn't brought the matter up with Severus again.

"No," Severus says. "I don't know what leads Lucius is following, but I know his investigation is going unbelievably slow. The Dark Lord is beginning to suspect he's bungling it on purpose."

"Could he be our mystery informant?" she asks.

"I thought maybe, especially after that incident with Narcissa, but...I don't know. I think he'd kill himself before switching sides."

"And Draco," she asks carefully. "Could it be him?"

"No. He doesn't know everything your informant does. And I doubt he's strong enough to be a spy."

"Not like you."

She sees his lips turn up, but the hint of a smile is gone in a second. "You know my theory on that. It can't be one person."

"It's even more unlikely that it's two or three," Hermione argues. They've talked about this a lot before and both know it's not worth rehashing.

They stand in silence, then Hermione says, "I wanted to ask you something, Severus. Something...personal."

He cocks his eyebrow at her. Although his face is blank, she can tell by the look in his dark eyes that he's intrigued.

She looks down at the worn rug under their feet. Sometimes she suspects he can read her mind just by staring into her eyes, although she knows, logically, that's not how Legilimency works.

"I'm having trouble controlling my thoughts," she admits. "Nothing too terrible, it's just... distracting. I wondered if there was something besides Occlumency I could use. A potion or spell, to give me better control of my mind."

He's quiet. When she looks up, he is watching her, concerned, and starts to approach her. "May I have a look?"

She shakes her head and steps back. "No."

He stops in place and regards her for several moments. "What types of thoughts? Memories? Visions? Worries? Plans?" He pauses before adding, "Voices?"

Hermione looks down at the rug again. How can she possibly explain?

When it's clear she's not going to answer his question, he speaks again. "Tell me this. Are they logical thoughts, or are there emotions attached?"

Her mind flashes to an image of her and Harry kissing. Love. Desire. Longing. "Emotions," she says quickly, then stops to take a deep breath.

He nods and goes to the shelf at the other end of the room. When he comes back, he is handing her a vial with a light grey liquid inside. "Brain Elixir," he explains. "It's easy to make. It will help a little, but don't overuse it, or its effectiveness will decrease."

Hermione nods and slips it into her pocket.

"Hermione," she looks up at the sound of her name. He doesn't use it often, only when he's very serious. "It's normal to get caught up in emotional thoughts, especially during dark times like this. It's _not_ normal when those thoughts stray too far from reality. Do you understand?"

She nods again and grips the potion in her pocket. She's not worried about going mad, she knows exactly what these thoughts are. She just doesn't know why they've suddenly taken over her mind.

"I know you won't tell your friends," Severus says solemnly, "but I need to know if my handler is going mad." Although he says it harshly, she knows he's worried about her.

"The offer of Occlumency lessons still stands," he adds.

_She was sitting on the couch in the sitting room of the tent with Harry, brushing his hair away from his eyes._

" _You don't need to be opening your mind to him, Harry. You need to be closing it. Use the Occlumency," she urged._

_He dipped his head against her and she wrapped her arms around him, trying to provide as much comfort as she could while he sobbed against her chest._

" _If I can see his thoughts, I can help," he said through his tears. "Without that, I'm just-"_

Hermione pulls herself back to the present.

"Where did you go just now, Hermione?" Severus whispers and she can tell he's eager to look inside her mind.

For a wild moment, she considers telling him. Out of everyone in her life, he's the only one who will understand. And it would be so nice to have someone else to confide in.

He cocks his head to the side, then swears, rushing to grab his wand from the side table. "Go. Now!" he hisses.

Hermione disapparates without a second's hesitation and reappears on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place. She leans against the front door and lets out a long sigh.

One of the reasons Severus lives in a Muggle village is because it's easy for him to detect threats in advance. He has wards setup around the entire town that alert him any time a witch or wizard enters. Hermione hopes whoever is visiting him right now means him no harm.

She takes the Brain Elixir out of her pocket and looks at it, making a plan to read up on the potion before taking it. "Thank you, Severus," she mutters under her breath. "I'll let you know how it works."

* * *

_May 1999 - Malfoy Manor_

Voldemort is in one of the sitting rooms at Malfoy Manor with Lucius and Bellatrix. A house elf lays out tea for them before scrambling out of the room. Voldemort takes a sip and sneers before putting the cup down.

The tea is weak. Ever since he killed Narcissa a few months ago, the entire house has been deteriorating. _I didn't kill her,_ he corrects in his mind, _Lucius killed her._ Voldemort had simply broken her beyond repair. The end result is the same. The Manor is in need of a new Lady. Lucius is too depressed to remarry, but perhaps Draco… He'll think on this further.

His followers are watching him intensely, but Voldemort is careful not to give too much away. _Are these really my two strongest Death Eaters?_

Lucius was great in the last war, but he's just a broken mess of a wizard now. He had been, even before losing his wife. He'd let love weaken him. But his son is showing promise, ever since Voldemort finally broke him. One day, Draco will replace his father at Voldemort's side.

Then there is Bellatrix. She is clearly his most devoted servant, but grows crazier by the day. The Dark Magic is obviously taking its toll on her. Voldemort forgets sometimes that not everyone is as unaffected by it as he is. There are limits to what he can ask his followers to do. He'll have to keep an eye on this when training Draco up.

There's one exception. Severus seems as unaffected by the Dark Magic as Voldemort, but that fact doesn't give Voldemort confidence. Instead, it puts him on edge. He's been keeping Severus at arm's length, fearing if he lets him get too close, he'll organize a coup against Voldemort and try to take over. Out of all his followers, Severus is probably the only one who could manage it. He was clever enough to fool Dumbledore, one of the smartest wizards of their time (besides him, of course).

Voldemort focuses back on Lucius and Bellatrix, who are still watching him nervously as they sip their tea.

"Report, Lucius," he says in a cold tone.

"My Lord. I am researching fervently. I have gone to every country in Europe to look for-"

Voldemort raises his hand to silence Lucius. "Enough preamble. Have you learned anything new?"

"No, My Lord," he says, dropping his head.

"Very well. I will administer your punishment after I hear from Bellatrix."

Lucius nods and focuses his gaze on the garden outside the window. Voldemort knows he has given Lucius a difficult task, especially since he'd murdered the two best known wand makers in Europe last year. He'd kill Gregorovitch again, if he had a chance. He'd been a weak, slimy wizard. But killing Ollivander hadn't been wise, though he'd never admit this to his followers.

He'd killed the wand maker in a rage following Harry Potter's success in finding and destroying the Horcrux Voldemort had hidden at Hogwarts. He'd been here at Malfoy Manor when he heard the news, then gone to the dungeons and killed everyone inside, hoping someone in there was important to the insufferable boy who wouldn't die.

He found out later that one of the victims, a young girl, had been a friend of Harry Potter's. He'd also killed a goblin and Ollivander.

"Bella," Voldemort says to the witch on his right. Her eyes are unfocused when she looks at him and he frowns. "Tell me. Where is the Seer?"

"I will find her, my Lord. I promise to-"

Voldemort hits her with the Cruciatus Curse and she falls back in her chair, writhing in pain. He hits her twice more before dismissing her, then tortures Lucius for a few moments before letting him leave too.

When Voldemort is alone, he seals the entrances to the room, then finally drops the shields in his mind. First, he inspects the wall he's erected to close the link between him and the boy.

Unfortunately, he can't use the link to learn about the Order without revealing information about himself, too. He learned that the hard way, when the boy plucked the knowledge of the diadem and its hiding place right out of his mind.

After confirming the wall is intact, he lets out a sigh of relief. He may be getting nowhere in his efforts to defeat Harry Potter, but he has time. Nagini is safe, since she's always with him, and the cup is locked away in Gringotts, one of the safest places in the Wizarding World.

As he thinks this, a memory flashes across his mind. He is handing the cup to Bellatrix and telling her to lock it away in the Lestrange family vault. He clears his mind quickly and rushes to put his shields back up. He cannot allow his thoughts to stray. But for some reason, his mind is getting harder and harder to control.

* * *

_June 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

Ginny and Hermione are sitting on the steps of the back porch, watching Harry and Ron in the yard. Ron is marching around the garden as he touches his nose repeatedly with alternating index fingers. Harry has his wand trained on Ron and is focusing hard on maintaining the spell.

The next moment, Ron jolts and shakes his arms. He's broken the spell again. Harry swears and looks at Hermione. "How long?"

"Six and a half minutes that time."

Harry's face falls and Hermione rushes to reassure him. "But it may not be you, Harry. Ron might just be really good at throwing the Imperius Curse. Try one of us," she motions toward herself and Ginny.

Harry shakes his head and makes his way back to the girls, taking a seat on the stairs in front of Ginny when he reaches them. "I'm too tired. I'll try it on one of you, later."

They received a message from their secret informant a few weeks ago saying the Horcrux inside Helga Hufflepuff's cup was in the Lestrange's vault in Gringotts. Ever since, they'd been planning how to break into the impenetrable bank, get the cup, and make it out alive.

For a brief moment, Ron and Harry insisted they go for the cup while the girls stayed behind, but Ginny and Hermione quickly shut that down. After that, Hermione developed most of the plan, unsurprisingly.

Using a hair from Bellatrix that Snape would retrieve for them, Ginny would take Polyjuice to impersonate the mad woman and try to enter her family's vault.

At first Hermione insisted it should be her who took the Polyjuice, but Ginny pointed out that Hermione wasn't the best at thinking quickly in tense situations.

Harry would be at Ginny's side, under the invisibility cloak, ready to cast Confundus Charms and Imperius Curses as needed to get the goblins to go along with the ruse. Hermione and Ron would be there too, heavily disguised, since they wouldn't fit under the cloak with Harry. If anyone questioned Ginny (disguised as Bellatrix) about them, she'd claim they were allies visiting from out of the country.

While Hermione brewed the Polyjuice Potion, Ron worked on disguising spells, and Harry practiced for his role. He learned the Confundus Charm quickly, but has been struggling with the Imperius Curse. Ginny knows he is beating himself up over this but doesn't think it's the worst thing that he's having a hard time mastering an unforgivable curse.

Ginny leans forward and begins massaging Harry's neck. "Six and a half minutes will probably be fine," she says, as he leans back against her legs. "We just need to get to the carts, then Hermione and Ron can help when we have the goblin alone."

She sees him nod and Ron joins them, leaning against the railing. "Hermione's right. I am just exceptional at throwing that spell."

"I don't remember you throwing it against fake Moody," Harry says bitterly.

Ron shrugs. "I was just a fourth year."

"How does the strength of my spell compare with his?" Harry asks.

Ron looks at him incredulously. "Are you serious? I can't remember. That was ages ago. It'll be fine, Harry. Ginny's right, we don't need it to last for months."

Harry sighs. "You or Hermione should be under the cloak casting the spells and I can be disguised-"

"No!" the three of them say in unison. They've had this conversation multiple times and Hermione, Ginny, and Ron agree that Harry needs to be the one under the invisibility cloak. That way, if anything goes wrong, he can slip away. He is clearly the most important one out of all of them, but Ginny knows he hates it when they say things like this.

"Maybe your problem is that you're too nice about it," Ginny says teasingly. "It's an evil spell, but you've just got Ron doing little marches around the yard. I think you need to crank up the embarrassment next time," she says with a wicked grin.

"I'd be careful there, Ginny. Didn't we just say he was going to practice on you next?" Ron retorts. "I have some ideas, Harry, for when you're ready to go again."

"What is wrong with you, Ronald?" Hermione yells, getting to her feet. "Both of you," she turns to glower at Ginny. "This is a serious spell. An _evil_ spell and you're treating it like some big joke!"

She marches back into the house and the rest of them are silent. Ron and Ginny exchange small smiles, but Harry's back is to Ginny, so she can't see his face. This is typical for Hermione. She snaps when she gets stressed. Ginny knows that by dinner time, she'll be apologizing to everyone for her outburst.

Her stress is probably compounded by that fact that she has so much on her plate. The rest of them only have one job - find Horcruxes, which, before now, hasn't required much. Hermione is a handler for two informants and does a lot of work maintaining the Order's Potions stores.

Recently, Ginny mentioned to Ron that maybe they should get extra jobs, like Hermione. He'd pointed out that she already had another job - keeping Harry's spirits up. Ginny had frowned, just like she always did when this topic came up.

Last August, as soon as she came of age, she went to her parents and demanded that she be allowed to accompany Harry, Hermione, and Ron on whatever special task they were doing for the Order. Her parents hesitated, and eventually called Kingsley over to discuss the matter. Ginny eavesdropped on their conversation, obviously.

It still made her sick anytime she remembered it. Kingsley was on board with the idea from the start. He said Harry's resolve was wavering and he needed someone like Ginny to remind him that there was hope after the war. He said Ginny and Harry could start dating again once she rejoined the group and that Ginny would serve as a morale boost and motivation to keep Harry going, even when things got hard.

The whole conversation had been infuriating and it took all of Ginny's self-control not to burst into the room and tell them all off. It was hard to decide which she found most upsetting: the way they talked about her, like she was some sort of prostitute, or the way they talked about Harry, like he was a mentally disturbed child.

"She's right," Harry says in a cold voice. Ginny snaps out of her thoughts and sees Ron cocking an eyebrow at Harry. Harry stands and climbs the steps of the porch. When he reaches the top, he turns to face Ginny and Ron.

"You two are treating this like a big game, but it's the first lead we've had in almost a year. People are dying out there and if we don't get that Horcrux, they'll continue to die. And the Imperius Curse is no joke. I'm sure I don't need to remind you how Lupin died."

He turns and disappears inside and Ginny turns back around and drops her head. There are two sides of the house. The serious side - led by Hermione, and the fun side - led by Ron and Ginny. Harry vacillates between which side he wants to be on.

Ron takes a seat next to Ginny and leans against her, then gives her a look that says, _Well, what are you doing to do?_

She thinks to herself that she's not doing well in her task to keep Harry's morale high, then pushes the thought out of her mind. She begins to rub her temples and uses Occlumency to clear her mind.

"Hey," Ron says, and she stops the Occlumency.

"Ignore him," he continues, wrapping a comforting arm around her. "You know he's just stressed. Hermione too. We all are, we just each have our own way of dealing with it."

"I know, Ron," Ginny sighs. "I just really hope we get that cup. I'm not sure we'll be able to handle the disappointment if we fail."

Ron nods thoughtfully. "It's good to hope for the best. Personally, I'm just hoping we all make it back alive."

* * *

Later that night, Ginny knocks on Harry's bedroom door. She hears him moving inside and after he opens the door, he throws his arms around her.

"I'm sorry," he mutters into her hair. She links her hands around his back and tries to draw as much comfort out of the hug as she can.

When he pulls away, she feels bereft and almost pulls him back. He walks into the room and sits on the bed and she goes to join him, crossing her legs in front of her to match his pose.

"I think I'm losing myself, Ginny," he says, looking down at the bedspread instead of at her.

She rubs his leg. "You're fine, Harry. It's normal to be stressed. We all know how important this mission is." She hopes her words don't sound as hollow as they feel.

For the most part, she and Harry have a good relationship, but this part of it - the emotional support part - she is awful at.

A few months after moving into Grimmauld Place, she was surprised to find that deep down, Harry is a bit of a mess. He is extremely insecure and is constantly questioning himself. Some days, when he's feeling especially low, she can't even find a glimmer of the strong, confident wizard she fell in love with.

He does a good job of keeping this hidden from others. During Order meetings, he appears impassive and resilient. Even with Hermione and Ron, he usually hides his worst self. He breaks down behind the scenes and typically only lets Ginny see.

She knows this is a sign that he trusts her more than anyone else, but oftentimes, she feels inadequate to shoulder this burden. She tries to understand, and say the right thing, and show him she loves and supports him. But there's a voice in the back of her head complaining that he's too needy and moody.

That's love, though, isn't it? When he gets like this, he has no patience for her sarcasm, and she has no patience for his melancholy. But they try to respect each other as best they can and power though, and the bad times always pass. Ginny reminds herself of this fact now.

There's a small part of her, however, that feels like their relationship only really works in good times. Like fifth year, before the war had started. They bonded over their love of Quidditch, he found her jokes hilarious, and she was attracted to his boldness and self-assurance. Then Dumbledore died, and everything changed.

Harry is watching her curiously and she wonders which emotions are playing across her face. Ginny sighs and leans closer to him. She slowly walks her fingers up his leg, toward his crotch. She sees him smile, sadly, as he realizes what she's proposing.

He's disappointed. He wants to talk, but she's terrible at talking. This is the best way she knows how to comfort him.

Also, she could use the comfort herself. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions. When she first learned they'd be breaking into Gringotts, she was excited to finally have something to do. That quickly turned to anxiety, and more recently, dread.

Ginny lifts up onto her knees and begins undoing his belt. As she does this, she wonders if maybe they shouldn't have sex when they both clearly feel lousy. But then again, she can't think of a better way to cheer him up.

He sits up and helps her pull his pants down, then cups her face and starts kissing her carefully, as if she might break in his hands. She wants him to just grab her and throw her on the bed, but she doesn't say so. She knows they'll get to that. Harry is always gentle to start. As they continue, he'll become more assertive.

One of the reasons she defaults to sex when Harry is in this type of mood, is because he's confident during sex, not weak and unsure (like he is in the other areas of his life). Or, well, he's not like that in bed anymore. They'd gotten past that awkwardness ages ago.

He pulls back and his expression is serious. "Are you okay? We don't have to do this."

Ginny smiles, annoyed that he's picked up on her apprehension. She wills herself to relax. She _does_ want to do this. She wants to be close to Harry, but can't get there with words. She links her hands around his neck and dips her head down, resting her forehead on his shoulder.

"I love you, Harry," she whispers. "I know a lot of times I struggle to show you properly, and I say the wrong thing, but I do love you." She looks up and sees his green eyes are swimming with concern and guilt. "And the jokes," she continues, "It's just my way of coping."

He lifts a hand and moves a strand of hair behind her ear. "I know. I love you too. I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. That wasn't fair."

She leans back and pulls her shirt off in one motion, then moves her hands to the hem of his shirt. He doesn't move his arms, so she can take it off, and she wonders if he's going to reject her and tell her he wants to be alone. It wouldn't be the first time.

He sighs, then helps her remove his shirt and when he leans back in to kiss her again, he's more insistent this time. Ginny kisses him fiercely in return as she digs her nails into his back, pulling him as close to her as she can. She's trying to show him how much she cares for him with each touch and ignores the voice in the back of her mind that tells her this isn't what he needs.

* * *

_July 1999 - Spinner's End_

Severus holds out a small glass vial with a few strands of black hair inside. Hermione is impressed he managed to get it in time, though she isn't surprised. Severus is extremely capable and she thinks that besides Harry, he is the Order's greatest asset.

"Thank you, Severus," Hermione says as she places the vial into an inside pocket of her robes.

"Is there anything I can do or say to convince you not to go through with this?" he asks.

Hermione shakes her head.

"Have you considered this could be a trap?" he asks next. "Maybe the 'secret informant' was the Dark Lord all along and his plan the whole time was to lure Potter to Gringotts."

"We have considered that, and we think it unlikely that he would go through with something like that and not tell you. If You-Know-Who did have plans to corner Harry, we think he'd invite all his closest Death Eaters along for support."

"Perhaps he suspects me," Severus points out.

Hermione rolls her eyes. He's just grasping at straws and they both know it. "Come on, you'd be dead if that were the case."

Severus nods. "Yes. He is getting worse at controlling his impulses."

She wonders what he's remembering.

"When is this suicide mission?" Severus asks, looking away from her toward a bookshelf on the other side of the room.

Hermione sighs. "Tomorrow morning. As soon as Gringotts opens."

Severus nods, keeping his gaze away from her. "If things go wrong, use the necklace. I'll invent a reason to go to Diagon Alley. I might just be there, anyway," he adds in an undertone.

"No!" she says insistently and he looks back at her. "If this goes bad, you can't be there. I'll use the necklace to contact you if we need you, but otherwise, stay away."

She can tell he's annoyed at being ordered around by her but sees the logic in her argument. "Fine," he grumbles.

She turns to leave, but stops herself and asks, "Any advice?"

His dark eyes soften slightly. "Don't be a hero, Hermione. At the first sign of danger, save yourself and we can go back for the others later. And if you're captured…" his voice trails off and she sees him look at the red pendant filled with poison.

"I know, Severus. I won't hesitate."

When he looks back into her eyes, his gaze is intense. "I hope you don't need to use it," he says in a low voice.

She can't help but smile. "Are you saying you'll miss me?"

His lips turn up slightly. "It would be irritating having to get used to a new handler."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: One of my favorite things about this story is that Snape is still alive.
> 
> Thanks as always to my betas – Lancashire Witch and Kimmeh B. You can find me on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Mon, Mar-1.


	3. The Bank

**Chapter 3**

_July 1999 - Gringotts Bank_

Ginny stops in front of the large doors of Gringotts and takes a deep breath. "Great impersonation so far," Ron mutters out of the side of his mouth. She doesn't drop her scowl, but gives him a curt nod in acknowledgement. She has only managed to get down the street so far. She knows the hardest part is coming.

She feels an invisible finger rub her back and takes one more breath before opening the doors and strutting into the bank. Once inside, she scans the room quickly and her stomach drops when she recognizes Lucius and Draco Malfoy, at the far end of the lobby, talking to a goblin with a white beard.

"Shite," she hears Ron whisper to Hermione. "Probably here on their weekly trip to count their gold so they can lord it over people later."

"Quiet," Ginny snaps, trying to refocus her mind. They can accomplish their task with the Malfoys here. As she walks forward, she feels Harry tugging on her robe. She knows what the gesture means. He wants her to turn around and try again, at a later time, but she ignores him. The real Bellatrix wouldn't turn around at the sight of these two, and neither should she.

She ignores the Malfoys as she makes her way to the main desk. When the goblin asks her what she needs, she says haughtily that she requires something from her vault. He asks her for identification and she hands over her wand in a huff, seeming irritated at the imposition.

This is when Harry needs to cast his first Confundus Charm. It goes well and in a few moments, the goblin is saying that everything appears to be in order and that he'll show her to her vault now.

"Who are your companions, Bella?" she hears Lucius say. Hermione hitches her breath, and Ginny silently curses her. She hopes Ron will step on her foot or something.

Ginny slowly turns to her left to face Lucius. "That is my business, Lucius," she says with a sneer. She can see Draco studying her out of her periphery, but keeps her gaze on Lucius. She fears that if she looks directly at Draco, she may inadvertently give something away.

Lucius cocks his head and asks in a low voice, "Are they helping you with your mission for the Dark Lord?"

Ginny nods, then turns back toward the goblin, but Lucius catches her arm, keeping her in place. She glares at him and violently pulls her arm out of his grasp. Before she can think of a proper way to scold him, he says with a gleam of something dangerous in his eye. "Tell me, Bella. What is your mission for the Dark Lord?"

Shite. He suspects something is amiss. Her mind is racing as she sifts through everything she's learned from their "secret informant." She has to give him enough information to reassure him she is the real Bellatrix, without acting too out of character. She lifts her chin so she can glare directly into his cold, grey eyes. _Almost identical to Draco's_ , she thinks, then banishes the thought from her mind. She needs to focus.

"That is something that should not be spoken about in public," Ginny hisses. "Maybe the next time we have tea with the Dark Lord, I'll tell him how freely you like to discuss his private business in front of others." She cocks her head toward Ron and Hermione.

Lucius glares at her, then she cackles slightly and adds in a sing-songy voice, "I'm sure he'd love that."

Lucius looks properly contrite. "That won't be necessary," he grumbles.

Ginny's about to leave when it occurs to her that it might be odd for Bellatrix to go an entire conversation without acknowledging her nephew. She braces herself before looking at Draco. As soon as her eyes meet his, her chest constricts and she feels as if her blood is boiling as hatred flows through her veins. It takes every ounce of restraint for her to stay in place and not lunge at him.

He looks different from when she last saw him at Hogwarts. He is thinner and has dark bags under his eyes, like he hasn't slept in weeks. His grey eyes are dead and when he looks at her, he appears bored. She tries to match his expression, reminding herself that the real Bellatrix wouldn't look at her nephew like she wants to murder him. She says as casually as possible, "Draco."

He gives her a nod and she turns away, trying to calm her racing heart as she follows the goblin through the large doors that lead to the tunnels. Everyone lets out a sigh of relief when the doors shut loudly behind them.

Ron starts cursing Draco as soon as the doors are closed. "It was all I could do to keep from hexing him," he's telling Hermione, who nods back reassuringly. Then Ron turns to Ginny. "That was brilliant, by the way. Where did you come up with that tea thing?"

Ginny shrugs. "I remembered it from an earlier letter from our informant."

"You were perfect," Hermione adds. "I'm so glad it wasn't me."

Ginny feels Harry rub her back but he stays quiet and hidden. The goblin is regarding them with a confused expression. "Take me to the Lestrange Vault," Ginny tells him. He nods and they all climb into the cart.

Once inside, Harry links his hand with hers. She looks down and watches her hand disappear as he pulls it onto his lap, under the cloak. "Are you okay?" he whispers. He's so perceptive. Even in Bellatrix's form, he can tell there's something wrong.

She gives him a nod. "I wasn't expecting to see him today, that's all," she whispers, then focuses on clearing her mind with Occlumency as they travel to the depths of the bank.

After ten minutes of riding, Ginny thinks they must be near the bottom, when she sees a waterfall flowing onto tracks up ahead. Hermione tries to cast a water repellent charm when they get closer, but the water flows right through it, splashing all of them.

Ginny cries out when she notices Hermione and Ron are back to looking like themselves. By the expressions on their faces, she knows she is back to normal too. A quick glance down at her hands confirms this.

"Bloody hell," Ron exclaims. "What was that?"

The goblin answers, but doesn't seem alarmed by their sudden change in appearance. Harry's Imperius Curse, at least, is still holding. "It's the Thief's Downfall. It washes away all magical methods of concealment. At the Dark Lord's insistence, we have increased security at the bottom levels, where all the ancient family vaults are."

"I thought the goblins didn't answer to any wizards," Ron says.

The goblin replies in a flat voice. "He was very persuasive."

Ginny looks to her right and notices that Harry is still invisible. She's relieved. If they're captured, at least he'll have a shot at getting away. Knowing him though, he won't take it.

"This is okay," Hermione says, though she doesn't sound convinced. "I have more Polyjuice potion. We'll get the cup and go back up. When we clear the waterfall again, Ginny can take more potion and Ron and I can reapply our disguises."

They all nod. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with this plan, but it's the best one they have right now.

Eventually the cart stops and as they are filing out, Ginny hears a familiar voice call from across the large cavern.

"Look, there! Imposters! Sound the alarm!"

Her stomach drops as she looks over and sees Lucius, Draco, and the older goblin they were talking to in the lobby, riding by in a cart at the other end of the divide. Lucius is the one yelling and Draco is still. She can't see his expression from this distance.

Ginny turns back to her friends and they look as panicked as she feels. "What do we do?" Hermione asks.

Ron looks around and hisses, "Harry! Wherever you are, stay hidden!"

"Fine," Harry's voice comes from Ginny's right and they all turn to face him, although they still can't see him. "Shite, they're heading over here," Harry says.

Ginny turns and sees the Malfoys' cart coming closer from across the ravine. "We're not going to be able to get the cup," Harry says in a rush. "We just need to get out of here. Back in the cart."

They scramble back into the cart and Harry orders the goblin to take them back to the entrance. They realize quickly that whatever alarm was sounded by the other goblin, prevents the cart from moving. Lucius and Draco are just twenty feet away now and Harry yells, "Run!"

The group instinctively splits up. Ron and Ginny head to the left, toward a series of winding tunnels, while Harry and Hermione run the other way, on a path that runs along the edge of the ravine.

As Harry runs, Ginny sees his legs. So much for keeping him hidden. She is sure Lucius and Draco have figured out by now that Harry is with them.

Sure enough, as father and son jump out of their cart, she sees Lucius go after Hermione (obviously he's seen that Harry is with her) while Draco comes for her and Ron.

Ginny runs as hard as she can though the winding tunnels which are lit by small torches along the way. She is trying to keep up with Ron while also keeping track of each turn they are taking. Right. Right. Left. Right. Two more lefts.

This is stupid, she thinks as the sound of their feet echoes around the empty tunnels. If they keep on like this, they'll just get lost. They should stop and try to take on Draco. He may be a Death Eater, but he's also their age, and outnumbered. Ron seems to come to this realization at the same time as Ginny.

The narrow tunnel they are running down opens up to a larger area lined with doors. Once there, Ron pulls her against a wall. They hide in the shadows, listening to the sound of Draco running in pursuit.

As Draco runs past, Ron shoots a stunner at him, but he dives out of the way just in time. Draco rushes to his feet and shoots a stunner back at Ron, who blocks it with a shield charm. Ron jumps out of the shadow and begins to duel Draco in the middle of the small room.

As the two boys duel, Ginny can tell quickly that Draco has the advantage. He is calm and collected, while Ron's actions are hasty, clearly clouded by rage. She wants to help her brother, but is worried any spell she casts will ricochet off the walls. It's all she can do now to avoid getting hit by one of the spells the boys are casting at each other. She doesn't want to add more chaos to the mix.

After a few minutes, she sees an opening and shoots a Body-Bind Curse at Draco, but he parries it easily. Draco sends two snakes at Ron and once he's effectively distracted, Draco turns to the shadows where Ginny is hiding. "You all are idiots!" he yells in her direction, his face twisted in anger. "Did you really think you'd get away with robbing Gringotts?!"

As if on cue, three goblins appear at the far end of the tunnel, blocking the path they'd been running down. Ginny swears. They need to get out of here. Running into the depths of the bank had been a bad idea.

Ron has finally gotten rid of the snakes and everyone in the room is momentarily still, each person planning out their next course of action. Draco takes a few steps toward the tunnel they'd arrived from, blocking their way out. Ginny steps out of the shadows and keeps her wand trained on Draco as she walks to join Ron in the middle of the room.

Draco is staring at her intently, but doesn't cast any spells. When she reaches Ron's side, he turns to face the goblins at the other end of the room and whispers, "What now?"

Ginny stands with her back against him, still facing Draco as she tries to think of a plan. Just then, Hermione's otter Patronus appears. "We found a way out. Come back to the cart."

Ginny hears Ron yell, _"Reducto!"_ and there is a crash as a pile of rocks falls to the ground behind her. She hopes it is enough to block the goblins, but doesn't turn to check, not wanting to take her eyes off Draco. She sends a hex toward him and he dodges and sends a stunner back, which she blocks with a shield charm.

Ron isn't behind her anymore. She's lost sight of him, but she's focused on dueling Draco now and tries not to think about her brother. The next moment, Ron jumps out of a shadow near Draco and dives for his feet. Draco takes his eyes off Ginny and in that split-second, she manages to land a disarming spell. His wand files out of his hand toward her while Ron collides with his feet, making him fall to the ground.

Ginny catches his wand easily and sees Ron start kicking him hard in the side. She winces reflexively. Draco pulls his legs up to protect himself and turns so Ron is kicking his back now. Ron doesn't seem to care.

"You killed my brother! You worthless, evil, fucking ferret!"

Ginny watches for several moments, then snaps out of it. They don't have time for this. "Ron, we need to go!" He doesn't listen.

She pulls him away from Draco and pushes him toward the tunnel Draco had been trying to block earlier. She's relieved when he starts running back the way they came. She starts after him, then stops at the first turn and looks back at Draco. She sees him mouthing her name, but can't hear it from this distance.

She takes a deep breath and lifts her wand, aiming it at a group of stalactites on the ceiling above Draco. Draco sees what she means to do and yells her name louder. He is trying to crawl out of the way, but is injured and is moving slowly. _Reducto,_ Ginny thinks. But the spell doesn't come out. She doesn't actually mean it.

 _Reducto. Reducto. Reducto. Just do the spell, Ginny!_ Draco deserves this, to die in a way so similar to how he'd killed Fred. She drops her wand. She can't do the spell, and she's just wasting time. She gives Draco one final sneer before turning and running after Ron.

When Ginny reaches the large cavern again, she cries in shock. There's a large, grey, decrepit dragon hovering in the center of the ravine. Her eyes widen further when she sees Hermione, Harry, and Ron on its back. This was their escape plan?

Ginny runs to the edge and looks over at her friends worriedly. How is she supposed to get onto the dragon? Just as she thinks this, she hears Harry and Hermione cry out in unison, " _Accio Ginny!"_

 _There's no way that's going to work,_ Ginny thinks to herself. But surprisingly, she starts to float toward them. She figures it was the power of their combined spell that did the trick. She closes her eyes and tries not to focus on the endless drop beneath her, then opens them when she collides with the scaly back of the dragon.

Ginny scrambles onto the dragon's back, just behind Ron, and links her arms around his torso.

"Come on dragon, it's time to escape!" Hermione yells.

The dragon listens to her and begins flying up and up and up. Ginny can barely see in the dark, then notices, almost too late, they are about to collide with the roof. She casts a shield charm over them and sees Harry doing the same and the next second, they blast through the lobby, then are flying above Diagon Alley, and now Muggle London.

For a split-second, Ginny thinks they'll be in trouble with the Ministry for breaking the statute of secrecy, then she remembers they are already wanted criminals. She smiles wickedly at the thought of the Death Eaters having to deal with the aftermath of their grand escape.

They hadn't got the cup, but they are free, and she knows the whole thing could have ended much worse. So for now, she is happy and relishes the feeling of the cool wind on her face. She knows soon, though, the disappointment will come.

* * *

It's several hours before they find a safe spot to dismount the dragon. When he (Ginny thinks it's a he, she's not sure though) flies down to dip his wingtips into a lake, they all jump into the water. Harry nearly drowns, choosing this moment to tell them all that his leg is badly injured.

Hermione casts a buoyancy charm on him and he begins to float. Ginny wonders at Hermione's seemingly endless knowledge of spells as she helps the others push Harry toward the shore.

Once there, Hermione inspects Harry's leg and Ginny jumps back in alarm when she sees it. It's badly burned and the smell almost causes Ginny to retch.

"Harry! When did you get this?" Hermione cries, rummaging through her beaded bag.

"You told me to distract the dragon," Harry moans.

Hermione nods and bites her lip, studying the wound. She opens a jar with a light green cream and begins rubbing it along Harry's burned thigh. Ginny has no idea how she does it. Ginny hates tending to wounds and the sight of blood makes her woozy. She turns away and sees Ron doing the same.

An hour later, after Hermione declares Harry safe enough to travel, they apparate back to Grimmauld Place. Hermione drags Harry into the sitting room so she can better tend to his wound. Ron marches to the kitchen and Ginny hears the back door open and slam shut. She goes after Ron, knowing she won't be much help to Hermione.

Ron is pacing the yard, blasting the bushes along the fence. She walks down the porch steps and when he sees her, he stops and looks at her. There are tears streaming down his face.

"I had him, and I didn't do it."

Ginny nods, understandingly. She had Draco in her grasp too, and had even more reason to hate him than Ron, but hadn't been able to cast the spell that would end his life.

"I should have hexed him!" Ron shouts, beginning to pace the yard. "I had him right there and completely forgot about my wand! Talk about a Hermione moment."

Ginny continues to nod. She has absolutely no idea of the right thing to say.

Ron stops and looks at Ginny, pleadingly. "He killed Fred, and we let him get away."

Ginny crosses the yard and hugs him. They both cry for a few moments, then Ginny steps back and pulls Draco's wand out of her robes. "I got this off him. I know it's not even close to what he deserves, but it's something. We both know how bad losing your wand can be."

Ron nods and she knows he's thinking of Harry. Ever since his wand was broken last year, he hasn't been as confident in his spells. Hermione thinks it's all in his head, and that does seem to be true. When he was practicing the Imperius Curse, he struggled and blamed the foreign wand all week. But when it came time to cast it today, he'd been fine.

"I'll give it to Harry once he's healed," Ginny continues. "Maybe it'll work better for him than that cedar wand he's been using."

Ron nods absently. Ginny can tell his mind is elsewhere and she pockets Draco's wand. "I wasn't ready to see him today," Ron admits.

Ginny sighs and wipes the remaining tears from her eyes. "Me neither."

"I miss him so much," Ron says.

She knows he's talking about Fred now. Her first thought is that even if Fred were alive, Ron wouldn't be seeing him anyway. The only other people they see are the high ranking Order members who come to the house for meetings. But she knows how he feels.

Just knowing Fred is gone from the world is almost too much to bear. One day, when they have an occasion to see George again, she knows she'll feel Fred's death all over again, each time she sees her brother without his twin.

"I need to go," Ron says suddenly.

"Where are you going?" she asks, worried he's going to leave them, like he did Harry and Hermione early in the Horcrux hunt, when Ginny was still at Hogwarts.

He shrugs. "Just for a walk, or maybe a run. I'll disguise myself and stay in the Muggle world."

Ginny nods. As he says it, she realizes this is exactly what she wants to do, too. The exhilaration she felt riding on the dragon's back and the relief from escaping alive was fading and the disappointment that their mission failed, is beginning to settle in like a cold weight in her stomach.

They didn't get the cup. And now Voldemort knows they know where it is, and will surely move it to a more secure location. After Ron disappears inside, she takes one final breath before going back into the house.

As Ginny approaches the sitting room, she hears Hermione and Harry talking in low tones. She leans against the wall just aside the room and listens to them.

"How is that?" Hermione asks. "Better?"

"Yes, loads better." Harry sighs heavily, before asking, "Where did we go wrong, Hermione?"

"We all tried our best, and it just didn't work. Bad luck, I guess," Hermione replies. "Without the Malfoys, I think we would have had it."

Ginny sighs and hears Harry hum in response.

"Harry," Hermione says comfortingly, "you can't expect every mission to go perfectly. This isn't even the worst one. I'm sure I don't need to remind you about Godric's Hollow. Or the visit to the cave with Dumbledore."

"I know, I know. You're right."

Ginny walks to the front door as Hermione continues to reassure Harry. Ginny knows she should go in there and help her. She should apologize for messing up the mission. At the beginning, when they first saw the Malfoys, Harry had tried to signal to her to leave, but she'd gone through with it regardless. It is her fault they failed, not Harry's, but she knows he's probably beating himself up over it anyway.

But Ginny can't muster the energy to talk to him, and to try to reassure him. She's not like Hermione, who has endless amounts to give. She needs to collect herself before joining her friends again.

"Everyone made it out safe," Hermione is saying. "Well, except you," she adds, with a small laugh.

Harry says something about the dragon and they both laugh again.

Ginny needs to get out of here. She's not worried about Harry. Hermione will take care of him. Ginny looks in the mirror and starts altering her appearance. She darkens her hair, thins her lips, and fattens her face. That will be good enough. Most people can't recognize her without her red hair, anyway.

As Ginny makes her way out the door, she hears Harry and Hermione laugh again and shakes her head. She does not understand Hermione. Ginny knows she was up all night, worrying over the plan and packing her bag for every eventuality. Then, this morning, she made a giant breakfast for everyone to get their spirits up.

Ginny knows she must be exhausted, but she's spent the last hour healing Harry and is working hard to cheer him up, right now, when all Ginny wants to do is escape somewhere and scream at the top of her lungs.

After a long walk around Muggle London, Ginny returns to Grimmauld Place. She hadn't expected to be out until dark and hopes Harry wasn't worried about her. The house is quiet when she walks in and when she peers into the sitting room, she sees that Hermione and Harry are asleep. Harry is sitting on the couch with a bandaged leg propped up on the table. Hermione is laying against his side with her head on his shoulder.

They look calm, in sleep, and Ginny hopes it reflects a bit of their waking selves. Hermione is good at comforting Harry and Ginny suspects she was probably able to heal more than just Harry's leg tonight. Hermione gives Harry real comfort, while Ginny makes him laugh and sleeps with him. Ginny wonders sometimes which he needs more.

Probably all three. Too bad he can't get a girlfriend who will give him all of it. As Ginny covers them both with a blanket, she wonders again if anything happened between these two last year. During that time Ron left them, they'd been alone for months in that tent. Ginny wouldn't be surprised if they'd turned to each other for comfort. She's never asked about it. A part of her doesn't want to know.

Ginny makes her way up the stairs and sees the door to Ron's room is closed. She considers going in to check on him, but changes her mind. Hermione will check on him in the morning. It's not just Harry who she's good at comforting.

Ginny walks into her bedroom and changes her clothes quickly before climbing into bed. She can't remember the last time she slept in here. She doesn't mind sleeping alone tonight. She welcomes the opportunity to privately sift through her thoughts.

When Ginny closes her eyes, she is back in tunnels under Gringotts. Draco is lying on the ground, calling her name, while she points her wand at the stalactites above him. She'd had her chance at revenge and hadn't taken it.

She tells herself it was because she'd been surprised to see him. She hadn't been ready for that shock. But now that she's seen him, and knows he's out there, she won't be caught off guard the next time. When she encounters Draco again, she won't hesitate to kill him.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione is awoken by the sound of birds. She focuses on their soothing song for a few moments, then her eyes shoot open. She has never heard birds from her room before. Harry's bedroom is the only one in Grimmauld Place with a window.

She's not in her room, she realizes quickly. She's in the sitting room, laying on Harry. Shoot. She sits up and the movement wakes Harry. His eyes snap open and he scans the room swiftly.

She smiles as she watches him. He always wakes up alert, as if he hadn't been completely asleep just moments before. She remembers this about him. Ron, on the other hand, takes a full five minutes to completely wake up.

Hermione leans farther away from Harry and stretches, then notices there's a blanket draped over them. She wonders who put it there.

"That probably wasn't the best way to sleep," Hermione says, trying to distract from any awkwardness between them. "I must have been so tired, I just passed out."

Harry smiles. "Me too. But honestly, I haven't slept through the night like that in ages. It's probably worth the soreness." He shifts in his seat, stretching his arms above his head.

Hermione returns his smile then feels herself blush. She busies herself with checking his bandage and can feel his eyes on her.

"All good," she says. "I'll need to change this around lunch time. But I'll leave you alone, for now."

She settles back on the couch and looks over at Harry. "How are you feeling?" she asks. "Your leg is getting better, but how about the rest of it?"

They talked for hours last night about the Horcrux hunt, and where they would go from here. Harry admitted that he felt like a huge failure and that if Dumbledore were able to see him from beyond the veil right now, his former mentor was probably regretting putting so much trust in him.

Harry still has a pile of unresolved feelings when it comes to Dumbledore. It's better than it was a year ago, before Aberforth explained the truth behind Rita Skeeter's lies, but Hermione still wishes there were something she could do to help. She's considered having Severus break Harry into Hogwarts, so Harry can talk to Dumbledore's portrait, but it's too risky.

The other option is the Resurrection Stone. If it is in the snitch, like Harry believes, he can use it to talk to Dumbledore, but they still haven't figured out how to open it.

Last night, Hermione tried to reassure him as best she could. She reminded him that he was very young and had accomplished a lot so far. They were all still alive and safe and had help on the inside. This was a setback, but there was still hope.

Then, she told him that out of all the people she knew, even considering Kingsley, the other Aurors, and the professors from school, she trusted Harry the most to accomplish this task and wouldn't have given everything up to follow him otherwise. She hadn't just said that to make him feel better. It was the truth.

"I do feel better," Harry says, in a soft voice. "Thanks." He raises a hand and starts running his finger along the top of her leg. "Hermione?"

She looks down at his hand, then up at him. His green eyes are serious, and she tries not to get lost in them. She can feel her mind starting to drift and works hard to keep her brain focused on the present and on what Harry's about to say.

They are interrupted by a sound at the window. There is a white owl pecking on the glass. Hermione looks back to Harry and sees his eyes have turned sad. He's thinking of Hedwig.

Harry begins to stand, but Hermione pushes him back down before crossing the room. The owl flies in and drops a letter on Harry's lap before flying away.

Harry opens the letter quickly and Hermione sees his eyes widen in surprise. "He already moved the cup," Harry says, as she goes back to join him on the couch.

Hermione's heart jolts. Their secret informant has already contacted them? This person is incredibly well connected.

"That's good, right?" Hermione asks. Or maybe it's not. Maybe the new location is more difficult to break into than Gringotts.

"I don't know," Harry says. "I mean, I guess it's good that we know where it is, but I don't know how we're supposed to break in there."

"Where is it?"

"Malfoy Manor."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hmm...I wonder who's going to help them get into there...
> 
> Thanks as always to my beta readers, Kimmeh B and Lancashire Witch. You can find me on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Wed, Mar-3.


	4. The Wand

** Part 2 - Gambit **

_"Stop there."_

_She took her hand off the pawn she'd just moved and placed it back in her lap. "What?"_

_"That was a gambit. But I suspect you did it accidentally," he raised an eyebrow in question._

_She nodded, unashamed. "I don't know what a gambit is."_

_"It's a type of opening where you give up something small, early on, to get a stronger position."_

_He motioned toward the board. "Here, you're offering a pawn. If I take it, which is tempting, you'll have better control of the center than I do."_

_"But you'll have my pawn," she pointed out._

_"Getting a strong position early is sometimes better. I'll waste my time capturing your pawn, which in the long run, doesn't really matter to you, while you can set up your other pieces for a better long-term advantage."_

_She nodded, thoughtfully._

_"I knew it was an accident," he smirked. "This isn't how you typically fight, is it? You're one of those, act now, think later people."_

_She crossed her arms and frowned. "You don't know me."_

_"So I'm wrong?" he asked, amused. "You don't passionately fly into action with no regard for the consequences?"_

_She knew he was referring to her most recent indiscretion - the reason she was in here with him today - but ignored him._

_"If I told you Potter was being tortured, right now," he continued, "and I gave you the location, would you not run off to save him, without a second thought?"_

_She glared at him. Just the thought of Harry being tortured was enough to make her heart race and she could tell by his smirk that he knew this. "You say that like it's a bad thing."_

_"It's a weakness," he said, matter-of-factly._

_"Are you telling me you don't have weaknesses like that?" she asked, challengingly. "There's no one in your life you'd run off to save, without a thought?"_

_She could tell she'd struck a nerve. His eyes flashed with indignation and he said gruffly, "Back to chess."_

* * *

**Chapter 4 - The Wand**

_July 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

Ginny is awoken the next morning by a scream, followed by a crash. She grabs her wand and runs into the hall. Hermione is standing at the doorway of Ron's bedroom, yelling, and there is a broken tray of food at her feet. The crash must have been from her dropping the tray.

Ginny repairs the tray and cleans up the food as best she can, then places it on the side table in the hall. She peers into Ron's room and rolls her eyes when she sees what Hermione is upset about.

Lavender is inside, sitting up on Ron's bed, naked. Ron is pulling on a pair of pants while Hermione scolds him. "I know you're upset," she is saying, "but you can't keep bringing her here! You know it's too dangerous to have people know our location."

"That's why you're going to Obliviate her, like you always do," Ron argues.

Lavender smiles and nods at Hermione and Ginny thinks she should probably get a shirt on before asking Hermione for any favors. Ginny turns away from the commotion and grabs a piece of toast off the tray before heading downstairs, smiling as she thinks of what her mum would say if she saw her eating food that had fallen on the floor.

Harry is standing in the doorway of the kitchen and Ginny sees he isn't putting any weight on his bandaged leg.

"What happened?" he asks when he sees her. He looks ready for battle, despite his injury.

Ginny goes to his side and kisses him on the cheek. "You can stand down. It's not anything serious. Ron snuck Lavender in last night."

Harry lowers his wand and rolls his eyes and Ginny pulls his arm over her shoulders and helps him walk to the table. After he settles back into his chair, she asks, "You still can't use the leg? I thought Hermione healed it last night."

"She said burns are tricky and I need to stay off it all day, while the skin repairs itself. I should be walking around again tomorrow."

Ginny finishes her toast, then pours herself a cup of tea.

"What happened to you last night?" he asks.

She shrugs. "I needed some fresh air. Sorry," she adds, looking down at the table.

Harry grabs her hand and squeezes it. "It's okay. I understand. Are you feeling better?"

Ginny nods. "How about you? Besides the leg, are you feeling okay?"

Harry reaches into his pocket and hands her a folded note. "Yeah. And our informant already knows where Tom moved the cup. Take a look."

Ginny reads the note quickly and her eyes linger on the last two words. _Malfoy Manor._ When she looks back up at Harry, she sees that he's studying her.

"What happened with Malfoy, yesterday?" he asks, in a low voice.

Ginny looks back at the note and feels tears sting her eyes. She shakes her head. She doesn't want to talk about it.

"Really? You're not going to talk to me?" Harry sounds irritated. "You'll talk to Ron and Hermione later, won't you? But not me, your boyfriend."

He's right, she knows, which is why she says eventually, "I had him. Malfoy." Her voice is rough. "I'd disarmed him and had a chance to kill him, but I couldn't make myself perform the spell."

Harry places a hand on her shoulder. "Ginny, I've told you to please give up on this idea of killing him for revenge. It will tear your soul and-"

"I know your opinion on it, Harry," she snaps. This is why she didn't want to talk to him. He can be so judgmental sometimes. "I don't need to hear it again."

Harry regards her for several moments and she can tell by his eyes that he's disappointed in her. She stares back at him defiantly, daring him to say more.

Eventually, he sighs and drops his hand. "You're right. We don't need to rehash it."

* * *

_We were both lying on the bed, in the room of the tent Harry used to sleep in. Harry was sitting up with his back against the headboard and I was laying down with my head in his lap, reading (unsurprisingly), while he played with my hair._

_He twirled a stray curl around his finger, then smiled down at me. "What?" I asked, when I noticed him looking at me._

" _Nothing, keep reading," he said._

_I sat up and put the book to the side. "I'd rather talk to you," I said, with a smile. He returned it and reached for my arm, pulling me toward him._

_I settled with my back against his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I thought to myself that that was my favorite spot to be during the dark times, in Harry's arms. But a coldness settled into my stomach at the thought._

_I knew those moments with Harry wouldn't last very long. Deep in my heart, I knew our time together was limited._

_When Harry talked next, I could feel his breath on my cheek. "Do you ever think about what you'll do after the war?"_

" _I want to get my parents and reverse the memory charm," I said, quickly. He sighed heavily and kissed my temple._

_I continued talking, trying to lighten the sad mood I'd inadvertently created. "But after that, well, I assumed that would be obvious. I want to return to Hogwarts and finish my N.E.W.T.s."_

_Harry laughed and I turned to face him, smiling. "Okay," he said. "What about after that?"_

_I thought about it for a few moments, then said, "Honestly, Harry, I want to do absolutely nothing."_

" _Nothing?"_

" _I mean, I want to get a job, and a flat of my own, but past that-" I paused to sigh, "-I think I've had enough excitement to last a lifetime, and doing nothing, sounds really nice."_

_I turned to look at him and saw a slow smile creep across his face. "I know exactly how you feel," Harry responded._

Hermione puts her quill down and looks at the pages she's just written before sighing and closing her journal. _This isn't working,_ she thinks to herself as she seals the notebook with her wand.

She tried using the Brain Elixir to control her thoughts, but its effectiveness began to fade after just two weeks. She usually appreciates having a strong mind but in this instance, it's working against her.

Then, she had an idea to write down the scenes with her and Harry that are constantly playing in her mind, reasoning that if she can get the moments down on paper, they wouldn't crowd her mind anymore. She's been doing this for over a week, though, and it hasn't helped.

The door to the parlor opens and Hermione glances at her journal, confirming it's closed and locked. Ron walks in and Hermione pulls her legs up to her chest when she sees him. She is sitting on a large, blue couch and Ron takes the seat next to her.

They are both quiet for several moments. When Hermione looks over at Ron, he is watching her, expectantly, and that makes her angry. Is he waiting for her to talk? He's the one who came in here, so he needs to be the one to break the silence. She's sick of always doing all the work around here.

"Have you been in here all day?" he asks, eventually.

Hermione nods, keeping her eyes focused on the opposite wall. It's only lunchtime, so she's been in here for about three hours. That hardly counts as "all day." Lavender's dramatics are rubbing off on him.

"Er...are you okay?" Ron asks next.

Hermione assumes that would be obvious, given her current location, body language, and refusal to talk to him. She shakes her head and tightens the grip on her legs.

Ron turns to face her, but she keeps her eyes forward. "You're upset about Lavender."

Hermione nods.

"Are you...uh...jealous?"

Hermione turns to Ron and gives him the meanest glare she can muster.

"No. Of course not," he continues in a rush. "I mean, you broke up with me and you've already said you don't care about me sleeping with Lavender. But, well, you won't talk to me and tell me why you _are_ upset. I'm not a Legilimens, Hermione. So please, can you just tell me what's wrong?"

Hermione dips her forehead against her knees as tears flood into her eyes. She takes several deep breaths and tries to swallow back the sobs threatening to overtake her. She knows Ron isn't a Legilimens, but it doesn't take mind reading to figure out why she's upset. What it _does_ take is attention and thoughtful consideration.

If things were reversed, she'd have figured it out ages ago. She is always monitoring her friends, looking for signs of depression, heartbreak, and physical ailments, then rushing to help however she can. But no one in this house pays _her_ any mind.

Sometimes, she wonders that if she were to leave, would they notice her absence first? Or just get hungry or need something cleaned, then wonder where the person who always did those things went.

She takes a deep breath, then says in a shaky voice, "I don't care that you sleep with Lavender, Ron. You know I'm the last one to judge other people's coping mechanisms."

She's glad she can't see his face, because she knows if she saw a hint of judgment there, she'd slap him. She takes another deep breath and says into her knees, "I don't like having to Obliviate her."

Ron is quiet and she wonders how long it will take him to understand. She counts in her head. When she reaches twenty-two, he swears.

"Your parents," he whispers.

Hermione nods, her forehead still against her legs.

"Why didn't you say?"

 _Because I wanted you all to figure it out. I wanted one of you, any of you, to care enough about me to notice,_ she thinks, but stays silent.

"I didn't know," he says. "I promise I wouldn't have-"

"I know."

He places his hands on her arms and she finally looks up at him. "Ginny and I will practice after today. I know Harry will just complain about his wand, but Ginny and I will learn. If you'll please take the time to teach us, we can-"

"Yeah, okay," she says quickly. She doesn't want to talk anymore. She wants him to leave now.

He doesn't go though, but stays on the couch, looking at his hands, which are still on her arms. "Hermione, I came to ask-" he drops his eyes and looks embarrassed. Then he takes his hands off her.

"We've all been talking with Lavender, while you've been in here, about inviting Neville over tonight. He's been staying with her across town, and we can have dinner, catch up, get some news from the outside world..." his voice trails off and he focuses on something behind her.

She wonders why he's pitching news from the outside world as a good thing. Especially, since the last piece of news Lavender told them was the exact manner of Lupin's death. Hermione could have done without that piece of information.

Hermione scowls as she realizes what he's asking. They'll need her to Obliviate Lavender _and_ Neville tonight, so that neither of them will remember where Grimmauld Place is.

"But after tonight, you can teach me and Ginny the spell and we'll do it from here on out, I promise."

Hermione is quiet. She just told him it was hard for her to do this spell, and he proceeded with his original request anyway. She is so hurt, but doesn't know if it's worth saying so.

"I think it will mean a lot to Harry," Ron continues in a soft voice. "He's been feeling really down since our mission failed yesterday."

Hermione flinches and leans away from Ron. When she looks back at him, her face is twisted in disgust. He knows she'll do anything for Harry. She can't believe he's trying to manipulate her.

"I know he's feeling down, Ron!" she bites back, angry tears coming to her eyes. "I was the one talking to him for hours, last night, while you were shagging Lavender! And you didn't have to bring him up. I would have agreed without the exploitation."

He looks contrite. _Good,_ she thinks. She buries her head back into her knees and the sobs she'd been trying to hold back before, finally burst forth.

Ron rubs her back as she cries and she wants to shake him off, but is too busy trying to get control of her sobs. After several moments, when her breathing is even again, he leans in and whispers into her ear, "Look at me, please."

The guilt in his voice makes her decide to listen to him. She takes a few breaths, then looks up and sees his blue eyes are sad and wet. He's been crying too.

"I shouldn't have said that about Harry. It was manipulative and awful; you don't deserve that. I'm sorry."

Hermione nods and looks down at the couch.

He places a finger under her chin to lift her face, then moves his hand to cup her cheek, wiping away the tears that are still flowing down her face with his thumb.

He watches her cry for several moments and she relishes in the feeling of having someone study her so thoroughly. Besides Severus, no one has looked at her this intently in months.

Ron pulls his free hand up to cup the other side of her face, then leans in and presses his forehead against hers. "I take for granted how strong you are, sometimes. But you're not okay, are you, Hermione?"

He leans back to look at her and she shakes her head. "No, Ron. I'm not." It's a relief to finally say it out loud.

His eyes fill with tears again and he pulls her into a tight hug. She resumes crying and wonders if there's a limit to how many tears someone can shed in one sitting, since, if there were, she thinks she'd have reached it by now.

Ron rubs her back again. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I should have known why you were so upset every time I brought Lavender over. I know how hard it was for you to do that spell on your parents and then I kept asking you to do it over and over again. And the rest of it…" his voice trails off.

Hermione feels bad for Ron as she cries. She's been too hard on him today. They are all just trying to do their best without going mad. "I should have told you sooner," she says once her tears finally begin to subside.

Ron leans back to look at her. "You can talk to me, Hermione. Really."

"I know," she says. Though she knows she won't. She takes a deep breath. "I'll start teaching you the spell tonight, and show you how I cast it to make sure they remember seeing us, just not our location."

He bites his lip, then nods sadly. He's disappointed. He thought she'd confide in him, but she can't. "Okay," he says, and forces himself to smile. "Thank you."

He gets up to leave, then turns back to her when he reaches the door. "I love you, you know. And I'm here, if you need anything."

She smiles and although her eyes are puffy and she's tired from crying, she feels lighter and less alone. "I know, Ron. I love you too."

He's about to close the door behind him when she calls out to him. "Yeah?" he asks, poking his head back into the room.

"Thank you, I feel better," she says, partly because it's true, but mostly because she knows it will make him feel better. He gives her a lopsided smile and nods before finally leaving her alone in the room.

* * *

_August 1999 - Malfoy Manor_

Voldemort is studying the map on the dining room wall that shows all the recent skirmishes with the Order. His followers are constantly asking if they are winning or losing the war. Voldemort doesn't care. These battles are just a way to distract everyone while he looks for Harry Potter, but he's no closer to finding him now, than he was a year ago.

Two weeks ago, Potter finally made a reappearance (trying to rob Gringotts, of all places) and Lucius let him slip away, again.

Voldemort knows why Potter was there, but he doesn't know how the boy found out that that was where he was hiding the cup. Only two people knew that - Voldemort and Bellatrix. After the incident, he called Bellatrix to Malfoy Manor and spent hours flipping through her mind, pushing hard on every potential inconsistency he encountered. It probably wasn't wise, given how unhinged she already is, but he had to confirm she hadn't told anyone. He didn't find anything suspicious during his search.

It is possible the boy simply guessed at Gringotts as a hiding place, but he'd been heading for the Lestrange Vault. That detail was too specific to be mere conjecture. Which means he had a magical way of getting at this information. Voldemort is sure the wall between their minds is still intact, so he believes it's the Seer helping him, the one the centaurs told him about before he flayed them all to death.

Harry Potter has someone who is Seeing the future for him, and that thought terrifies Voldemort. If Bellatrix doesn't make any more progress finding the Seer in the next few weeks, he'll take over the search himself.

Lucius enters the room then, disrupting Voldemort's thoughts. Lucius better have more than just excuses for him today. Voldemort notices that he's still limping from the punishment he'd received after his blunder at Gringotts. _Good._

"I have progress to report, My Lord, on my task."

Voldemort perks up. Finally, a bit of good information. He waves for Lucius to continue.

"There is a spell, my Lord, to check the current owner of the Elder Wand." Lucius hands him a piece of paper that outlines a simple spell.

Voldemort takes it and tosses it on the dining table, then turns back to glare at Lucius. "Where did you get this?"

"I got it from a former apprentice of Gregorovich who is currently living in Germany."

"Show me," Voldemort demands.

Before Lucius has a chance to consent, Voldemort is sifting through his mind. He watches Lucius pull a middle-aged man and his wife out of bed, point his wand at the wife, and yell for a few minutes, then he sees the man cry before writing down the spell for Lucius. Lucius Obliviates the couple, then leaves.

He should have killed them, Voldemort thinks. Just more proof that Lucius has gone soft.

"You visited Germany when I first gave you this task and said there were no leads. What made you go back?" Voldemort asks.

"I am dedicated to this task, My Lord," Lucius says earnestly. "When I was getting nowhere, I decided to check everything again, in case I'd missed something. That's when I found the apprentice."

Lucius is hiding something, but he's covering it up well. Slippery as always. Voldemort dismisses him with a wave, then looks down at the spell.

He wonders briefly if he should try it on Severus, but dismisses the thought. He knew just a few minutes into his duel with Severus that he wasn't the current master of the Elder Wand.

There was no resistance when Voldemort attacked him with the wand, as Ollivander said there would be when he dueled its master. Voldemort assumed Dumbledore did something to the wand to prevent it passing to his killer. The old wizard had known Voldemort was planning to kill him, which is why Voldemort thinks he did something special to the wand to make it hard for Voldemort to get ownership of it.

Or, perhaps, he gave ownership of it to someone else before he died. Voldemort knows exactly who Dumbledore would have chosen and hopes that isn't the case. So far, Lucius hasn't found any proof that this type of transfer of ownership is possible.

Voldemort picks up the wand in question and uses it to summon one of his followers.

"My Lord," Yaxley says a few moments later, walking slowly into the dining room. It is rare for Voldemort to summon his Death Eaters to him alone like this, and he can tell Yaxley is scared.

"I require your assistance, Yaxley."

"Anything, My Lord," he bows his head.

"Get Thicknesse to retrieve the Portkey logs for the past year. I want to see the dates of all of Lucius's visits to Germany."

"Yes, My Lord. I'll get that right away for you."

* * *

_August 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

Hermione is reading in the sitting room when silver sparks hit the couch, missing her leg by inches. She jumps and looks over her book at Harry, who is sitting across the room.

"Sorry, Hermione," he says, sheepishly. Her mind pulls her into a scene from the Hogwarts library.

_Hermione was reading from her Runes textbook when she got the feeling someone was watching her. She looked up and saw Harry, standing a few feet away._

" _What are you doing here?" she asked, beaming widely. She stood and looked around quickly, to ensure no one was watching, before leaning in to give him a quick kiss._

" _Looking for you, obviously," he said as he leaned back to smile at her._

 _Stop!_ Hermione thinks to herself. _Harry's with Ginny!_

Hermione focuses back on her current surroundings. Harry is talking about something. The wand Ginny gave him - Malfoy's wand, Hermione reminds herself. "It's so weird," he's saying.

Hermione sighs and puts her book down, trying to shake the previous thoughts from her mind. Harry hasn't noticed anything amiss with her and is glaring angrily at the wand in his hand.

Hermione still blames herself for breaking Harry's original wand, and suspects he blames her a little too. She wonders if he's thinking about this now. "What's wrong with it?" she asks.

Harry shakes his head. "I'm not sure. Sometimes, it seems so well suited to me, and others...it's like it's fighting me."

Hermione crosses the room and picks up Malfoy's wand, then casts a series of spells with it: Lumos, a cleaning charm, a summoning charm, then a levitation spell. She can feel the wand fighting against her, too. She stops and looks at it curiously. "You know what, Harry…?" her voice trails off.

She thinks back to the research she did almost a year ago on wand ownership, when she'd feared Voldemort was going to kill Severus to get control of the Elder Wand.

"No, I don't know." Harry's voice cuts into her thoughts.

She smiles back at Harry as something occurs to her and hands the wand back to him. "You've been struggling to find a new wand since yours was broken," she starts.

Harry nods.

"Well, Ollivander always said the wand chooses the wizard. Maybe you've been struggling because none of the new wands chose you, that one included." She gestures toward Malfoy's wand.

"Okay. So I'm doomed to have faulty wands until some new one comes along and chooses me? I can't go to the shop again, Hermione. Ollivander is dead."

Hermione frowns, thinking. "I know that, Harry…" Her voice trails off again as her mind races through all the facts she knows about wands, then she smiles again. "This wand is Ginny's. She won it off Malfoy. I think you need to win it off her, then it should start working for you."

"How do I do that?"

Hermione shrugs. "Duel her, and win, I think."

Harry looks down at the wand and nods. "Okay. I guess it couldn't hurt to try it."

"It might hurt Ginny," Hermione adds, teasingly.

Harry chuckles. "I'm obviously not planning to harm her."

"Good," Hermione says, returning to her book. "That wouldn't be very chivalrous of you, would it?"

* * *

Ginny is eating breakfast at the table when she feels a hand crawl up her leg and stop at the hem of her pajama shorts. Ginny smiles to herself, but keeps her gaze on her plate as she listens to Ron talk about how much he misses professional Quidditch matches.

Harry slips his fingers under the hem of her shorts and inches up to her knickers, while Ginny tries to keep from squirming. She looks over at him and sees he appears to be listening intently to Ron, but his lips are turning up slightly. She shakes her head and turns back to her breakfast.

She and Harry had already shagged this morning, but she guesses by his actions now, he's intending to repeat the performance later today. He slips a finger into her knickers and she finally gives in and pushes his hand away, letting out a snort of laughter.

Ron looks at her curiously, then shrugs and continues talking. Harry acts like he has no idea what's going on, then lifts his wand to clean up his plate. It almost hits Hermione, who got up to put her own plate in the sink.

"That's enough, Harry!" Hermione scolds, narrowly avoiding the flying plate.

Harry's plate crashes when it falls into the sink. "Look, you broke another plate," Hermione cries, pointing toward the sink.

"No matter, I'll repair it!" Harry jumps up and heads to the sink, pointing Draco's wand in front of him.

"Just stop with all the magic, Harry," Hermione continues. "I'm just as thrilled as you are that you finally have a wand that works well for you, but this incessant use of magic is driving me mad!" She marches out of the room in a huff and when she's out of earshot, Ron and Ginny laugh.

Harry joins in and Ginny is glad that he's back with the fun side of the house, at least for now.

"She is right, though," Ron says once the laughter subsides, "You're acting like a kid who's just come of age. We get it, you know magic. You really should give it a rest."

Harry shrugs, but pockets the wand anyway. A few days ago, he cornered Ginny and told her that Hermione had a theory that if he dueled her and won, he'd get control of Draco's wand.

They'd tried it, but it had taken four times for Harry to properly beat her. The first two times, Ginny had been trying to let him win (which didn't fool the wand), and the third time, Harry had been too afraid of hurting Ginny to adequately overpower her.

The fourth time, Ginny had fought as hard as she could and Harry had actually dueled like he meant it. He ended up hitting her with a disarming spell so powerful that she was thrown back into the fence, bruising her hip. He'd apologized a million times, but she didn't care. She was just glad it had worked.

Since then, Draco's wand had performed brilliantly for him. Harry was giddy at finally having a wand that worked as well as his original one, and his good mood was infectious. Even Hermione had been happy, until just this morning when she'd finally snapped.

Hermione returns to the kitchen and places her mug in the sink, looking at Harry pointedly, as if to say, _This is how normal people handle dirty dishes._

Harry is ignoring her. "I have been wondering something about this whole wand ownership thing," Ron says, through a bite of eggs.

"Chew your food, Ron." Hermione crosses her arms and leans against the counter while he rolls his eyes.

He chews and swallows elaborately, then opens his mouth wide to show Hermione that it's empty. Hermione rolls her eyes and Ginny and Harry share a smile.

"Anyway," Ron continues. "When Harry beat you, shouldn't he have taken control of your wand too, Ginny? Why just Malfoy's? Did his family put some special pureblood protection charm on it that cost a hundred galleons to apply or-"

Hermione shrieks, then runs out of the room.

All three of them look after her, confused. "I have a feeling Hermione knows," Harry says, with a smile. "Or is about to."

When Hermione doesn't return after a few minutes, they go looking for her and sure enough, she's in the sitting room, pouring over a thick, grey tome. They watch her for a few more moments, but she hasn't seemed to notice them enter, so Ginny clears her throat.

Just then, Hermione seems to find what she was looking for. "Oh my God," she mutters.

"What is it?" Ron asks.

"You were right, Ron," he smiles widely. "It's not normal for wands like ours, or Malfoy's for that matter, to be so sensitive to the transfer of ownership. Wizards have reported a slight amount of resistance here and there, but nothing as drastic as what happened with that wand," she points at the wand that Harry has taken out of his pocket.

"What does that mean?" Harry asks.

"There are other wands that _do_ have strict ownership rules. More important wands…" Hermione's voice trails off and she's looking at them significantly, but they are all confused.

Hermione is annoyed they aren't getting it. "Can any of you think of a more important wand?"

"The Elder Wand?" Ron asks.

Hermione nods, but they still don't get it.

"That's not the Elder Wand," Ginny says, pointing at the wand in Harry's hand.

"I know it's not. But there's a reason it's behaving like it is." She pauses again, waiting for them to catch on.

"We don't know the reason, Hermione," Ginny says, irritated now. "Just tell us what-"

"Fuck!" Harry swears and Ginny turns to find him looking at Hermione, excitedly. "You think-?"

"Yes!" she nods.

"Just tell us!" Ron exclaims, looking as frustrated as Ginny feels.

Harry turns to him and begins to explain. "Tom thought Snape was the one who defeated Dumbledore, but he was wrong. We know now that Dumbledore worked out that death ahead of time."

"Yes, we know that. Where's the part with the wand?" Ginny asks.

"That night, Snape didn't overpower Dumbledore. But _Malfoy_ did. He disarmed him, and Dumbledore wasn't expecting it. And at the time, Dumbledore was the owner of the Elder Wand. Meaning the wand transferred ownership to Malfoy that night and he's been its master this whole time but had no idea. Or well - maybe he does and is too afraid to tell Tom. Anyway, after that, Ginny disarmed Malfoy at Gringotts."

Ginny nods, finally getting it. "That means that I-"

"Yes," Harry nods. "You became the master of the Elder Wand. But a few days ago in the yard, I defeated you, and the ownership of the wand transferred again, to me."

Harry turns to Hermione, who is smiling widely at him. "What will happen if he attacks me?" he asks her.

"This is all just speculation, of course, but I think the wand will recognize you as its master and won't work against you."

Ginny cannot believe their luck. Her heart feels lighter than it has in ages. Voldemort can't kill Harry. It's the perfect protection.

"Well, that's convenient," Ron says with a laugh and they are all unable to contain their smiles. It's the best news they've had since learning where the cup was hidden.

"Do you know what else this means?" Hermione asks.

They all shake their heads.

Luckily, Hermione doesn't try to get them to guess this time. "You have all the Hallows in your possession, Harry. Well, once we figure out how to open the snitch. That makes you the Master of Death."

Harry nods, but looks confused. "And what, exactly, does that mean?"

Hermione shrugs. "I have absolutely no idea. But I'm guessing it's a good thing."

Harry pulls Ginny against his side and she wraps her arms tightly around his middle. She can tell by the gleam in his eye that their shag later today, is going to be memorable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh yay, Harry has possession of the Elder Wand. As Ron said, how convenient.
> 
> I know some of you are mostly here for Draco (me too, honestly). We'll see him more in the next chapter.
> 
> Thanks to my betas, Lancashire Witch and Kimmeh B. Come see me on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Fri, Mar-5.


	5. The Queen

**Chapter 5 - The Queen**

* * *

_August 1999 - Pucey Estate_

Hermione's eyes shoot open and she swears to herself. She fell asleep last night, instead of going back to Grimmauld Place, like she'd planned. Bugger. She carefully rolls out of the large, four poster bed, trying not to wake up the wizard next to her, who has his arm draped lazily over her chest.

She finds her clothes strewn around the room and starts getting dressed quickly. She is pulling on her pants when the sound of the wizard's voice, still rough from sleep, makes her jump. "Leaving so soon?"

Hermione grabs her outer robe, which is draped across a pale blue chair, and puts it on before turning back to face him. "I shouldn't have slept here. That was a mistake."

He shrugs and stands, crossing the room, not seeming to care that he's naked. When he reaches her, he begins smoothing her hair with his fingers. "You were exhausted, especially after all the shagging," he stops to smirk and she rolls her eyes. "Anyway, I didn't want to wake you up."

"You should have. It's dangerous. Someone could have found me and-

"The house is empty," he interrupts her, his voice soothing. He is speaking in her ear and the feeling of his breath on her neck sends a delicious chill up her spine.

"My parents and brother are gone, visiting friends in Belgium. I wouldn't do anything to risk losing you," he nibbles her earlobe, then moves his lips to her neck before adding, "my beautiful Mudblood."

She steps back out of his grasp, crossing her arms in front of her. "I told you to stop calling me that." It's awful that she's giving herself over to someone who would call her Mudblood, she knows, but a part of her also knows he doesn't mean it cruelly.

He shrugs and pulls her back into his chest. "Bad habit, forgive me." He wraps his arms around her back and leans in to kiss her and she lets him. She hates herself for it, but can't deny how good it feels to have someone hold her like this.

Six months ago, Adrian Pucey approached McGonagall and told her he wanted to become a spy for the Order. After multiple rounds of Legilimency and Veritaserum to ensure he was sincere, Kingsley accepted him as an informant and asked Hermione to be his handler.

She'd refused, at first, reminding Kingsley that her primary job was to support Harry in his Horcrux hunt and that she was already busy checking in on Severus and managing Potions stores for the Order, but Kingsley had been insistent that Adrian's handler be a young witch around his age, and Hermione was the only one of their current handlers who fit that description.

Kingsley said he'd considered Tonks, but Lupin had just died and she had moved out of the country with her son and mother, mad with grief. Lupin's death had been a big blow to the Order, since it had caused them to lose two of their strongest members, in one go.

Hermione ultimately agreed to help and learned quickly why Kingsley had wanted her for this assignment. Adrian, like Tonks, was also mad with grief. His fiancée, Lenora, had been killed by MacNair in a training drill, when the Death Eater used an experimental spell that slowly turned her blood to solid iron.

Lenora had died a painful death over the course of a few days and none of the higher ranking Death Eaters had tried to help her, saying she was expendable and not worth all the time it would take to develop a counter-curse for MacNair's spell.

Adrian had latched on to Hermione quickly. He saw her as someone he could protect and take care of - a sort of replacement for the void Lenora's death had left in his life.

Though as far as informants went, Adrian was not the best. His information was not good, since he wasn't a Death Eater and wasn't included in any important meetings. But he did have a unique position. He wasn't a Death Eater, but was friends with a lot of lower level Death Eaters and was invited to train with them and join them in battles. This was actually an advantage.

When Adrian was around, no one questioned it, but when he was gone, no one missed him. However, Kingsley and Hermione hadn't decided the best use for him yet.

Sleeping with Adrian was not part of the assignment. But Hermione thinks that if Kingsley ever found out, he wouldn't be very upset, since it had the benefit of strengthening Adrian's attachment to her.

That wasn't why she'd done it, though. From the start Adrian had made it clear he was interested in Hermione and had made several passes at her. Although he was undeniably handsome and charming, she'd resisted. Then a few months ago, when the thoughts of her and Harry were threatening to take over her brain, she finally gave in and slept with him for the first time.

Hermione told herself it was just the one time, and just sex, but they'd done it every week since, and it was becoming more than sex. She'd slept over, and now he was holding her gently in his arms, without a hint of lust in his eyes. She is losing control of this relationship, but still can't make herself step out of his grasp.

She knows she is taking advantage of Adrian's grief, but she is desperate for comfort and since breaking up with Ron a year ago, has been longing for someone to desire her and call her beautiful. She knows it's wrong, and pathetic, and even a little repulsive, but she does it anyway. This is her one vice. The one area in her life where she lets herself do the wrong thing.

Hermione lays her head against his chest, hating herself, but relishing in the comfort of the gesture. Then, it occurs to her she never asked what she'd meant to last night. This is just more proof this whole relationship is getting away from her. She needs to focus. He's an informant and she is supposed to be getting information from him.

She leans back and sees that his blue-grey eyes are soft and lucid. Good, she thinks. He's with me. Sometimes, he disappears into the past and starts calling her Lenora. She hates that more than when he calls her Mudblood. At least when he does the latter, she is sure he knows who she is.

"Have you ever been to Malfoy Manor?" Hermione asks, trying to sound casual.

Adrian frowns. "No. Only high-ranking Death Eaters go there. Most of the lower level ones aren't invited in. It's a point of contention, actually."

Hermione nods. "And what about Draco, have you seen him much in the past year? You played Quidditch together in school, right?"

Adrian drops his arms and starts pacing the room. Hermione tries to keep her eyes on his face and not his naked body. But he's attractive and her gaze begins to drift south. He's tall and lean, built similarly to Ron, with light brown hair and a handsome face.

"Draco is an arsehole," he grumbles. "The few times I've seen him, he doesn't even acknowledge me. It's the same for the others. He's in the Dark Lord's inner circle, so he thinks he's better than everyone. I think his only friend these days is Theo Nott, the only other higher ranking Death Eater our age."

Hermione nods and cuts into his rant. "Do you know how to get into Malfoy Manor?"

Adrian shrugs. "I know there are powerful wards protecting it. But I'm not sure on the specifics. I think you need a Malfoy to get you in. With Narcissa dead, that leaves Lucius or Draco, I guess."

Hermione nods again, then says carefully, "One of us may need to get into contact with Draco. Do you know where he can be found? Outside of the Manor, of course."

He crosses the room in an instant and is cupping her face in his hand. "No, Hermione. Don't approach him. It's too dangerous."

She resists the urge to roll her eyes. He treats her like she is a delicate pureblood princess, not a fighter for the Order who can take Draco on just fine. But the way he regards her as weak and wants to protect her is useful, she reminds herself. And if she's being completely honest, she likes having someone worry over her.

Hermione smiles and places a kiss on his jaw. "It's not me who would reach out to him, don't worry. It would be Kingsley or one of the higher-up members," she lies. If he tells her where to find Draco, she'll be going to him directly, but she won't tell Adrian that.

He studies her and she keeps her face blank, then he admits, grudgingly, "He goes to the Leaky Cauldron every Thursday night, around 8pm."

"Thank you, Adrian." She gives him one last kiss and steps back.

He is looking at her sadly and his eyes are unfocused. She knows he's not seeing her, but Lenora. "I love you, please stay safe," he mutters.

She nods and gives him a sad smile. This is so messed up. Why has she let this go on for so long?

Before he says anything else that is meant for his dead fiancée, and not her, Hermione disapparates and reappears on the doorstep outside Number 12, Grimmauld Place. She stays outside for a few moments, dreading the reception she's going to receive when she walks inside.

About a month ago, just before their Gringotts break in, Ginny, Harry, and Ron sat Hermione down for a type of intervention. Ginny had discovered that Hermione was having sex with someone, since she'd noticed that she wasn't the only one using Contraceptive Potion in the house. Since Hermione hadn't told any of them about becoming Adrian Pucey's handler yet, they all assumed she was shagging Severus; the only wizard besides Harry and Ron who she saw regularly.

Hermione had admitted that she had taken on a new informant and that _that_ was who she was sleeping with. It had been embarrassing and she'd hoped they'd all be relieved she wasn't sleeping with a man twice their age, who they'd hated from school, but they'd been just as upset as when they thought her mystery lover was Severus.

She pushes the memory of that day from her mind now, not wanting to recall the awful things they'd said to her. However, she knows the things they said to her face are nothing compared to what they are saying behind her back.

She takes a deep breath, then carefully opens the front door, trying to be as quiet as possible. She hears voices in the kitchen and creeps up the stairs, but one of the stairs creaks under her foot and she hears the voices in the kitchen stop. Bugger.

Harry appears in the hall and when he sees her, his expression turns angry.

"Where were you?" he asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Hermione ignores him and continues up the stairs, but he runs behind her and grabs her arm, forcing her to stop.

She turns to face him, angry now. "You know where I go on Monday nights, Harry. Now leave me alone. I don't owe you any explanations."

"Yes, you do!" he bites back. "Shagging him is bad enough, and now you're sleeping there too? You have to see how dangerous that is."

"I do, Harry. It was an accident and it won't happen again. I just made a mistake. It happens."

"What's happened to you, Hermione? I hoped after we talked a few weeks ago you'd stop this disgusting...what are you calling it? Relationship?" His face twists in disgust. "It's repulsive. He's a Death Eater-"

"He's not," she cuts in.

"Close enough," Harry retorts. Ginny appears in the hall behind him, but stays silent.

"I know your opinion on this, Harry. We don't need to go through it all again." Hermione turns but only makes it up a few more stairs before Harry grabs her arm a second time.

"If you must sleep with someone, just pick one of the Order members, like Neville, or Dean, or even Ron. An informant? Really? It's-"

"Enough, Harry!" Hermione yells, pulling her arm away from him. "This isn't your business."

He sets his jaw and when he speaks again, his voice is soft. "This is wrong, Hermione. You have to see that. Does he really call you Mudblood when you're together?"

Hermione eyes flash to Ginny in the hall, whose mouth has dropped open in horror. "I told you that in confidence," Hermione says to Ginny. "Do you want me to start telling Harry the secrets you've told me?"

Ginny opens her mouth to speak but Hermione doesn't stay around to listen. She marches up the stairs and Harry comes up after her. "We're not finished, here, Hermione!"

"I am!" she yells over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" Ron appears in the hall and Hermione takes the opportunity to rush into her room and slam the door. She leans her back against the closed door and takes several deep breaths.

"She stayed the night with that Death Eater," Harry tells Ron.

"So? Why do you care so much?" Ron snaps back at Harry. Hermione smiles to herself, relieved to have at least one person on her side.

"What are you talking about? Just last week you said-"

"Well, I changed my mind. Leave her alone!" Ron bellows. "We can't all live with our girlfriend like-"

Hermione casts a silencing charm on the door and goes to lay on the bed. She keeps seeing Harry's angry and disappointed expression, but soon, it's replaced by another image of him.

_She was laying on Harry's bed in the tent while he moved on top of her, thrusting in and out of her. His pace was agonizingly slow, so she told him to move faster. Harry stopped and bent to kiss her neck, then whispered in her ear, "No."_

_She pulled him closer and-_

Hermione snaps back to the present and begins counting the cracks on the ceiling, trying to calm her racing heart. She thinks of sex with Adrian last night, and tries to replace the images of Harry with him, but no matter how hard she tries, her brain keeps bringing her back to that night with Harry.

She shoves her palms painfully into her eyes, groaning. These thoughts are getting worse and she can't help but wonder if she's slowly going mad.

* * *

_August 1999 - Spinner's End_

During Hermione's next meeting with Severus, she tells him that they've learned that Voldemort moved the Horcrux to Malfoy Manor and asks how to get inside the estate.

"There's no breaking into Malfoy Manor," he replies. "You were better off when the cup was in Gringotts. The Manor is protected with ancient blood magic."

"You're able to get in, are you not?" Hermione asks, pointedly.

"I'm a Death Eater. A few years ago, the Dark Lord linked the blood magic protecting the estate with our Dark Marks. So now, Death Eaters can come and go freely, but we can't bring guests. That's still something only a Malfoy can do."

Hermione sighs, disappointed. She hates being reminded of how brilliant Voldemort is. Warding magic is complicated, and the fact that he managed to untangle the wards around the Manor and tie in magic of his own is impressive.

"Not all Death Eaters can get in, though," she says, remembering what Adrian told her. "The lower level ones, for example, can't go to the Manor, can they?"

Severus's eyes flash with annoyance and he studies her carefully. She tries to keep her face blank. Severus doesn't know about Adrian and she doesn't want to tell him, for a number of reasons. "How do you know that, Hermione?"

She shrugs. "I heard it in a meeting."

He studies her for a few moments longer, then, finding nothing, continues. "You're right, but their Dark Marks are different from ours." He begins rubbing his forearm. "Theirs are incomplete. In theory, they can earn their way up to higher levels, by proving themselves, and the Dark Lord will complete the Mark for them. It's never happened though."

Hermione nods. This is the first she's heard of the different types of Mark. She wonders if there's anything useful there. She can't think of anything now, but makes a note to write it down, in case they can use it later.

"Anyway, you need to have a complete Mark to enter the boundaries of the Malfoy Estate."

Hermione sighs again and begins pacing the room. So, Severus can get into the Manor on his own, but can't bring anyone else. That will make getting the cup complicated. Unless they can convince Draco or Lucius to help them.

"How does it work when the Malfoys let someone in?" she asks, carefully. "Do they add them to a list or-"

"No," Severus interrupts her. "The Malfoys need to accompany any additional people personally to get through the wards. This is why, in many ways, the Manor is better protected than Hogwarts. I think that may be why the Dark Lord is delaying his move."

"And you still think there's no way Draco or Lucius will work with us?" she asks. "I've heard Draco was kind during his seventh year. He diverted people to more humane detentions and avoided torturing students as much as possible." Neville had told her this a few months after Hogwarts had been shut down. When Hermione asked Ginny if she'd had the same experience with Draco, Ginny had said she didn't want to talk about her brother's murderer and demanded Hermione never bring him up around her again.

"He's changed," Severus says quickly.

"How can you be sure?"

Severus takes a deep breath and drops his eyes. She watches him and sees that his expression is sad. "The Dark Lord was trying to break Draco for ages. He finally managed it several months ago. I don't know the specifics, but it was something involving Narcissa. I believe he tortured her while commanding Draco to kill, repeatedly. For the first few murders, I heard Draco was reluctant, and even refused to look his victims in the eye."

Severus's voice cuts off and Hermione pulls her hand up to her mouth, horrified by the story. She wants to ask Severus to stop, but instead, asks, "What happened?"

When Severus looks back up at her, his eyes are lined with tears. She knows he always liked Draco at Hogwarts, and wonders if he blames himself for whatever Voldemort did to him. "It wasn't until Draco killed a Muggle child with his bare hands that the Dark Lord was finally satisfied and released Narcissa. By then, it was too late, and she'd already gone mad."

Severus looks away from her, toward the bookshelf, and she wipes her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Now, he kills freely, without hesitation," Severus adds in a flat voice.

Hermione knows Severus is trying to scare her away from Draco with this story, but it just makes her feel sorry for him. And it doesn't change the fact that he is one of two people in the country who can get them into Malfoy Manor. Between Lucius and Draco, she thinks that Draco is the safer option.

"Whatever you're planning, don't." Severus is just inches away from her and she wonders how he's able to move so quickly and quietly.

She takes a step back. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Severus's dark eyes are watching hers intently. "He's not the boy you knew from school anymore. I will get the cup, just give me time to figure out how."

Hermione nods absently, her mind working through a plan to contact her former classmate.

"Hermione." Severus places a hand on her arm and when she looks down at it, he pulls it away. "It's too dangerous. Promise me you won't reach out to him."

She meets his eyes and is touched by the concern she sees there. For a moment, she reconsiders her reckless plan. But she knows they are at war, and they won't win if they don't take risks. "I promise," she lies.

* * *

_August 1999 - Malfoy Manor_

Lucius cries out as Voldemort digs his wand harder into his leg. Voldemort smells the burning flesh as his wand tip bores into Lucius's skin like a branding iron, but he ignores it and focuses on Lucius's memories. With accomplished Occlumens like the Malfoys, diving into their mind while simultaneously torturing them, is the only way to get them to drop their walls.

Lucius is fighting hard though, which just intrigues Voldemort further. He's not even trying to hide his deception, anymore. Whatever Lucius is concealing must be very important to him. Important enough to give his life for, since surely, Lucius has figured out by now, that Voldemort won't let him live after this interrogation.

Finally, Voldemort finds what he's looking for and drops the Legilimency spell. Lucius falls to his knees, panting heavily. His grey eyes are scared and Voldemort can tell Lucius knows that he's found it.

"My Lord, please, you must understand-"

Voldemort backhands him and he hits the ground hard. Voldemort digs his burning wand tip into the wizard's side, causing Lucius to cry out in pain again.

"Call one of your elves," he orders the broken man on the ground.

"Sir?"

"I said, call an elf."

He's annoyed he can't call them himself, but they are bound to the Malfoys. Draco and Lucius have ordered all of the house's elves to obey Voldemort, but they still won't come when he calls.

Lucius groans and in a few seconds, a small elf appears. "Bring me Draco," Voldemort spits at the creature and smirks when he sees Lucius's eyes widen in horror.

"My Lord, he had nothing to do with this. It was me. Punish me, my Lord. Not him."

"Don't worry, Lucius, that's my intention. Now shut up." He silences the wizard with a wave of his wand.

When Draco walks into the room, he gives his father a single, passing glance before looking straight into Voldemort's eyes, his expression impassive. Good, Voldemort thinks. He's improved. A few months ago, the sight of his father in this condition would have caused at least something to flash across the boy's face. Though Voldemort knows the true test of Draco's allegiance will come shortly.

"You called, my Lord?"

"I recently learned from your father that there is a spell that can be used to detect the owner of the Elder Wand. When he told me of it last week, I was confused about why it had taken him so long to find it. Then I learned that he's known of it for months, and hid it from me." Voldemort is studying Draco's face as he talks, but can read nothing on it.

"Do you know why he hid it?" Voldemort presses.

"I don't," Draco says, quickly. "He should have told you as soon as he learned of it. I apologize for his error in judgement." He looks down at his father again, then back up at Voldemort. "I'm glad to see he's been punished thoroughly for his mistake."

He doesn't look glad, however, or upset. He looks completely indifferent; bored, even. Draco looks lazily out the window, like he's ready for Voldemort to get to the point, so he can carry on with the rest of his day.

"Come here, Draco," Voldemort says, dangerously. Draco doesn't seem afraid. He nods and approaches his master, stepping over his father on his way. When Draco stops in front of him, Voldemort enters his mind.

He can tell Draco was expecting it. There are already walls erected. Voldemort isn't concerned, he can always tell when Draco is hiding something, even if he can't see what it is and for now, that's all he needs to know.

In a few moments, Voldemort finds what he needs and lets Draco go, satisfied that his memories match what he found in Lucius's mind. From the start of his task, Lucius suspected Draco was the rightful owner of the Elder Wand. It was he who had disarmed Dumbledore the night of his death - a detail Voldemort hadn't known.

Once Lucius found the spell, he tried it on his son in his sleep. His suspicions were confirmed and at that moment, Lucius had decided to hide his revelation from his master, worried he'd kill his son, to get possession of the wand.

Then a few weeks ago, Draco started using a different wand. When Lucius noticed, he cast the spell again and was relieved to find that Draco was no longer the Elder Wand's master. It was then that he'd decided to tell Voldemort about the spell.

Now, Voldemort casts the spell on Draco and watches as nothing happens. He's not surprised, but wanted to confirm, just to be sure. He tries his best to quell the fury rising in his chest. If not for Lucius's blunder, he'd have had possession of the wand months ago.

Draco is watching him curiously, but looks unconcerned. He's wearing the look of a person who doesn't fear for anything, since they no longer have anything left to lose. He hasn't looked down at his father again, which Voldemort finds impressive. If things were reversed, he knows Lucius wouldn't be able to look away from his son's mangled body. Perhaps, Draco hasn't forgiven his father for poisoning Narcissa.

"You recently lost your wand?" Voldemort asks, looking down at the wand peeking out of Draco's pocket.

"Yes, my Lord, about a month ago, in battle."

"Show me," Voldemort demands.

Draco nods and in a second, Voldemort is back in his mind. He is watching a battle from Draco's point of view. Draco has just shot a jet of green light at a female Order member around his age, but she dove out of the way just in time. He turns to find someone in a cloak, with the hood pulled up over their face, approaching him.

The figure shoots a spell at him and Draco blocks it with a shield charm, but it ricochets off a rock and hits him in the side a second later. He blacks out and the memory stops.

Voldemort replays it twice more, picking out as many details as he can from the cloaked wizard. He is about Draco's same height, has sandy hair, and a scar along his neck. When Voldemort has seared the image of the man into his brain, he releases Draco.

Draco is panting slightly and Voldemort figures he was more aggressive with his Legilimency than he realized.

"What happened to your wand?"

"It was gone when I woke up." Draco looks down at the wand in his pocket. "This is my mother's wand." His eyes soften for a second, but the emotion is quickly replaced with a mask of indifference. So, he's not completely emotionless. Voldemort catalogues this information away for later.

"Very well," Voldemort sighs. He is disappointed Draco didn't recognize his attacker, but reminds himself that this is the only lead he's had in ages. All he has to do is find the tall, sandy-haired Order member with a scar on his neck. While he looks for him, he can have all his followers tested with Lucius's spell, in case one of them has disarmed the man since he took ownership of the wand from Draco. This will be a good job for Severus.

"Is that all, my Lord?" Draco asks, interrupting Voldemort's thought.

"No." Voldemort draws out the word, excited to see how Draco will react to his next order.

Draco is waiting patiently. Voldemort regards the wizard standing before him. He is handsome, and poised, like a proper pureblood wizard. But more impressive is the way he's learned to shut off his emotions. His magical power grows stronger each day and he doesn't have the madness from his aunt, nor the weakness from his parents.

Voldemort hasn't decided if he'll let Draco replace his father in the ranks of Death Eaters or save that position for Severus. A lot will depend on how Draco reacts in the next few moments.

"Your father has betrayed me, Draco. He can no longer be trusted." Voldemort's voice is cold. He sees Draco look down at his father, but Voldemort keeps his eyes on the boy. His face stays blank and looks back at Voldemort, waiting for him to continue speaking.

"Kill him," Voldemort hisses.

Draco stares back at him for several moments with those grey eyes so similar to his father's. Finally, Voldemort sees signs of emotions flitting across his irises. Shock, first, closely followed by anger, fear, doubt, pain, then, finally, determination.

Draco gives Voldemort a curt nod, then looks down at his father. Lucius is mouthing something, but the silencing spell Voldemort cast on him is still in effect. Draco removes his wand from his pocket, then crouches next to his father and whispers something in his ear. Lucius's eyes widen in horror, then Draco holds his wand to his chest and casts a silent killing curse.

Lucius goes limp and Draco stands, looking down at his father with disgust. He gets control of his features, then looks back at Voldemort. "Is there anything else you need from me, my Lord?"

"No, that will be enough for today." Voldemort is impressed. He expected Draco to struggle more. He wonders what Draco told his father but decides to let it go for now. He can pick it out of Draco's mind later.

"Thank you, my Lord. I'll send an elf to clean this up."

Voldemort watches him walk out of the room, his spine straight. The boy had just become an orphan but seems almost completely unaffected. Voldemort has done a good job of breaking him. Draco Malfoy is well on his way to becoming as dark as him, Voldemort thinks, smirking to himself.

* * *

_August 1999 - Diagon Alley_

Hermione is in a dark alley two blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for Draco. She has no idea if he typically walks this way or if instead, he'll just Floo or Apparte right inside the bar. She commits to trying this tonight, then if it doesn't work, she'll try something else next Thursday.

She is scared but tries her best to ignore it. It's not a good idea to be here alone. She's a wanted criminal and even with Harry's cloak, she feels exposed.

The thought of Harry hardens her resolve and she stands straighter, gripping her wand tightly. If he knew she were here, he'd be livid. For once, she doesn't care. They're still not talking after their fight on the stairs the morning before.

Although she knows Harry is right to be upset about Adrian, hearing the words she frequently thinks to herself spill out of his mouth, hurt more than she'd expected. Luckily, he hasn't brought it up again. She doesn't know what Ron said to him, but Harry's been avoiding her and they haven't spoken properly since.

However, the main reason she didn't tell Harry about this plan was because she knew he'd insist on coming with her (fight or not). That's also the reason she hadn't told Ginny. She couldn't trust Ginny to keep it from Harry. Hermione is still bitter that Ginny told Harry about Adrian calling her a Mudblood.

Hermione considered telling Ron, knowing he'd have kept the secret at least, but he'd have also come with her, and this mission is too dangerous to risk two people. In her gut, Hermione thinks there's a chance Draco will help them. But if she's wrong, she doesn't want the error to result in one of her friends' deaths.

 _Just my death_ , she thinks before banishing the thought. _Not helpful, Hermione._

Just then, she sees a flash of blond hair under a dark cloak. The person is coming up the street. She can't see his face, but decides to take the chance, not wanting to miss him. She takes a deep breath, then steps out onto the pavement.

"Mr. Malfoy, sir. I have a message for you."

"Not interested," he waves her away without a second glance. She recognizes his voice. This is Draco.

Hermione takes a deep breath before stepping into his path. "Are you sure, Ferret?" She pulls her hood back slightly so he can see her face and sees his eyes widen in shock. She nods toward the dark alley she'd been hiding in and he follows her back there.

She sees him open his mouth to say something, but before she finds out what it is, she grabs his arm and disapparates them away. They reappear in the middle of an empty field. She's brought him back to the clearing where he saved Harry, Ron, and her from Snatchers, over a year ago.

She wonders if he recognizes their location, then sees him roll his eyes. He remembers.

After they were rescued, Hermione told Harry and Ron a Death Eater had saved her, but that he'd been wearing his mask the whole time and had disguised his voice so she couldn't tell who it was.

After Severus reached out to them a week later to give them the memories, they'd all assumed it was he, who had saved them that night, and Hermione never corrected them, thinking it was important to keep Draco's identity a secret, to protect him.

And despite what Severus said about him, she still thinks he is their secret informant. He's close enough to Voldemort and has already proven he's willing to help them.

Draco and Hermione stare at each other for several moments with both of their wands drawn. He breaks the silence first. "What the fuck are you doing, Granger? Is this a suicide? Did you not have the courage to do it yourself?" She can hear the sneer behind his words, but he has his hood pulled up, so she can't see his face clearly.

"You're not going to kill me," Hermione says, with more confidence than she's actually feeling.

"I'm not?" Draco jeers, lowering his hood and taking a step toward her. He is smirking evilly and his eyes are shining with anticipation. He looks like a predator who's playing with his food before killing it. She sets her jaw and raises her chin, trying to hide how scared she is. He's just taunting you, she tells herself, hoping desperately that she hasn't gotten this wrong.

She gulps, then crouches down to place her wand on the ground before taking a few steps back. "No," she says evenly, "you won't."

His eyes widen in shock, then he becomes angry. "What are you doing? I'm a highly ranked Death Eater."

"Who has been helping the Order."

"What?"

He looks genuinely surprised, but she ignores it. He's a good actor, she tells herself. He'd have to be to stay hidden for so long. "Notes owled to Harry with information only someone close to You-Know-Who could know. Fake kills on the battlefield. You're saying those haven't been you?" She studies him but can't read anything off his face.

She can't properly name the odd look she sees in his eyes. She thinks he looks a bit out of control and wonders if he'd been drinking before he decided to go to the bar tonight.

"I haven't been doing any of that, but the Dark Lord will be pleased to hear about the leak. I'll spare your life for giving me this information."

He turns and she steps toward him, grabbing his arm so he can't disapparate. "Wait!"

Draco violently pulls his arm out of her grasp and when he looks back at her, she finally puts a word to what she'd seen in his face a few moments ago. Unhinged.

"What happened to you, Malfoy?" she asks, genuinely concerned. He's not the boy she knew from school, nor the person who'd saved her a year ago. He's a man now. A detached, cold, very lonely-looking man.

"I assume you're referring to the night I helped you escape the Snatchers," he says in a dead voice that matches the blank look she sees in his grey eyes. "I am not that person anymore. I was stupid and weak and thought I-" he cuts off, then looks angry again.

"It's not too late to turn back," Hermione says in a soft voice. She has no idea what she's still doing here. It doesn't seem like Draco is their secret informant and she doubts he'll agree to help them, but something makes her stay anyway. If he was going to kill or capture her, he would have done it by now.

"I killed my father just hours ago at the Dark Lord's request. You believe I can turn back from that?"

Bile rushes into Hermione's mouth and she tries to keep the disgust she's feeling from showing on her face. He sees it anyway.

"That's what I thought," he says. "Do not attempt to contact me again."

He steps back but before he can turn on his toe, Hermione pulls out the white chess piece he'd given her after saving them in the forest. "What about this?"

Hermione holds the chess piece out in her palm and when he sees it, his eyes turn warm. It's like watching ice melt, she thinks to herself. But the tender expression is gone in a second.

"You said you saved us for someone else. Do you not care about her anymore?"

Draco reaches out for the piece and rubs his fingers over it before lifting it up and reading the inscription on the side. "So, you never found out who it belonged to." He says it like a statement, not a question.

Hermione is confused. She always thought Draco was referring to his mother and that this piece was tied to her in some way. But now he's talking like it belongs to someone she should know. Someone in the Order?

She watches him regard the tiny queen chess piece for a while longer, then he tosses it back at her without warning. She nearly drops it.

He smirks as she fumbles, then his face becomes impassive again. "I'll speak to its owner, and no one else."

She wants to ask him more questions, or tell him that she's not in contact with most of the members of the Order and will have a hard time finding whoever he's referring to. But he's gone the next second.

She sighs and looks down at the piece again, then reads the inscription that appeared there, the night he killed Fred. _Some pieces are more important than others._

She has no idea what it means, but now she knows it was a message of some sort, for whoever this chess piece belongs to. Is it in reference to Fred's death? Or something else entirely? And what did he mean when he'd spoken about his father? Did he really kill Lucius earlier today?

She'll ask Severus about Lucius when she sees him again. Then, at the next Order meeting at the house, she'll pull Kingsley aside and tell him what she learned tonight and ask for his help in locating the owner of this object. She's annoyed she hadn't thought the piece belonged to someone on their side sooner.

Kingsley will be angry with her for seeking out Draco alone, but he can't punish her. She doesn't answer to Kingsley. Their Horcrux Hunt is technically outside his jurisdiction. Though Hermione thinks that Kingsley will understand. Their group has been getting nowhere and if they don't start taking risks, they'll never end this war.

When Harry finds out what she did, he'll be upset. But he'll forgive her, eventually, especially if Draco ends up helping them get the cup. It might take Harry's mind off Adrian, too.

When Hermione returns to Grimmauld Place, she hears Harry, Ron, and Ginny talking in the sitting room. She left a note telling them she was going to forage for Potions ingredients, earlier, and hopes they bought it. Thankfully, as she makes her way up the stairs, no one stops her.

She'd dug around in the mud after Draco had left, to back up her story about searching for ingredients, and now she needs a bath.

When she returns to her room later, she removes the chess piece from her robes and goes to return it to its hiding place in the dresser.

Just then, Ginny opens the door. Hermione tries to shove the chess piece into the drawer, but she's not fast enough.

Ginny hitches her breath and steps into the room, carefully closing the door behind her. "Where did you get that?" she hisses.

Hermione looks down at the small queen, frozen in shock. "Is this-?" she pauses. No, it can't be Ginny, can it? "Is this yours?"

Ginny is silent, but Hermione can tell by the look of recognition in her eyes that this isn't the first time she's seeing this chess piece. If this doesn't belong to Ginny, Hermione is sure Ginny at least knows who it _does_ belong to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh yeah, I think we all know that chess piece belongs to Ginny. Thanks as always to my betas, Lancashire Witch and Kimmeh B.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Sun, Mar-7.


	6. The Friend

**Chapter 6 - The Friend**

* * *

_August 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

Ginny is in the sitting room with Harry and Ron. The boys are talking about potential ways to break into Malfoy Manor but Ginny is only half listening. She's waiting for Hermione to get back from foraging for Potions ingredients, so she can apologize for blabbing to Harry about Adrian.

Ginny never imagined Harry would tell Hermione what Ginny had confided in him. He was a lot angrier about this whole 'Hermione sleeping with an informant thing' than Ginny had expected. She wonders if there's more behind it. He's acting jealous, almost, which is something she'd expect from Ron - not Harry. Ron was actually being really reasonable about the whole thing. Talk about a role reversal.

Ginny hears the front door open and perks up. She strains her ears and hears Hermione walk up the stairs, then softly close a door. She's about to get up to go join her when she hears a door open and another one close a moment later. She guesses Hermione has gone to take a bath. She'll wait until she's done to go apologize.

The boys have stopped talking and are watching Ginny. She shrugs and gives them a small smile.

"Do you think she actually went foraging for ingredients?" Harry asks with a frown. "Or was she just meeting up with Pucey, again?"

Ginny sees Ron roll his eyes and she knows exactly how he feels. Ron picks up a Daily Prophet from the side table and starts to scan it. Hermione and Harry still read those, but Ginny and Ron don't (usually). They are absolute rubbish these days and have never once provided them with any useful information. Ginny figures Hermione and Harry just read them out of boredom.

Ginny crosses her arms and turns to Harry. "Why does this thing between Hermione and Pucey bother you so much?"

"She's sleeping with the enemy! What does she even see in someone like that?"

Ginny shrugs. "He's handsome, for one. And I bet another appeal is that he's not someone she could ever get serious with, so it really is just sex."

Harry sneers and even Ron frowns, but keeps his eyes on his paper and stays quiet.

Harry crosses his arms, matching Ginny's pose now. "Why are you two suddenly okay with this?"

Ginny sighs heavily and goes to join Harry on the couch. "You heard Ron, Harry. Hermione's been having a rough time. If shagging a random idiot helps in some way, I don't know why we should mind."

She sees that Harry is about to open his mouth to argue and places a hand on his arm to silence him. "I know sleeping at his place is a bad idea, and so does she. It was a mistake and she won't do it again."

"You're the one who came to me and told me you were worried," Harry says to Ginny. "You said she was getting in over her head and told me how he calls her Mudblood."

"Yeah and then you went and blabbed right to Hermione and now she doesn't trust me," Ginny bites back. "Thanks for that."

Ron snorts from his spot across the room and Harry still looks angry.

Ginny leans away from him, then asks, carefully, "Is it really just the fact that he's friends with Death Eaters that bothers you? Or would you be upset, no matter who it was?"

Ginny sees Ron put his paper down out of the corner of her eye but keeps her gaze on Harry. "What are you implying?" Harry asks.

"Am I being completely crazy, Ron?" Ginny asks, "Or is Harry acting jealous?"

"You're not crazy," Ron says evenly. Harry looks over at him, his green eyes indignant.

Ginny hears a door open upstairs and jumps up from the couch. "As much as I'm enjoying this conversation, I really need to go apologize to my friend."

Before Harry can say anything else, she's already left the room and is climbing the stairs two at a time. When she gets to the bedroom she shares with Hermione, she sees Hermione standing at the dresser in her bathrobe, holding something Ginny never thought she'd see again.

"Where did you get that?" Ginny whispers, closing the door behind her.

Hermione starts and her jaw drops. "Is this yours?"

Ginny's heart is pounding hard in her chest and she takes a deep breath. Hermione is saying something but she isn't listening. She walks slowly across the room, then takes the marble chess piece out of Hermione's outstretched hand. It's exactly like she remembered, with one exception.

There are small black letters along the side, twisting up the piece like a spiral. The handwriting is familiar, but the words written there are not. _Some pieces are more important than others._ This message was clearly meant for her, but she doesn't know what it means.

"Where did you get this?" she repeats her question. Hermione is watching her carefully, clutching her towel tightly.

"Someone gave it to me," she says. "I have a feeling you know who."

Ginny looks down at the piece again and nods slowly.

"I saw him tonight," Hermione continues. Ginny hitches her breath and tightens her grip on the chess piece. She feels tears well into her eyes. "I think he might help us; he's done so before. But he said he'll only talk to the owner of that piece. I'm guessing that's you?"

Ginny turns away from Hermione and fury overtakes her. For a moment, she was back at Hogwarts, sending messages back and forth with this chess piece. But no, that time is gone. He killed Fred, she reminds herself. She thought, once, they were friends. But Draco is no friend of hers.

"You said he helped you? When?" Ginny rounds on Hermione.

"In the forest, when we escaped the Snatchers. It was Malfoy who saved us."

"You said it was Snape."

"Ron said it was Severus. I never denied it. I thought it would be a good idea to protect Malfoy's identity, if he was working for us."

Hermione places a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "That night, Malfoy told me he helped us 'for her,' and gave me that. I didn't realize, until tonight, he was referring to someone on our side."

He helped them escape? Why? Images of Draco from Hogwarts flash into her mind. Him scolding her for making a wrong move in chess, while his eyes flashed with amusement, both of them playing Quidditch late into the night, the first time she saw him really smile while they laughed about their shared fear of Babbity Rabbity.

Ginny pushes the thoughts violently from her mind. She replaces the images in her mind with the only one of Draco that matters. Him raising his wand and pointing it at a falling pillar and blasting it toward Fred. Then the cold satisfaction on his face when the pillar fell, crushing her brother.

"That was before he killed Fred," Ginny tells Hermione. "Draco is not on our side. I know he can be persuasive, but he's a snake."

"Ginny. I think-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ginny snaps. "And don't tell the boys. Okay?"

Hermione nods sadly and Ginny knows this conversation isn't over, but she can't talk about this anymore right now. She needs to clear her mind.

She bursts into the hall, but pauses when she gets there, unsure where to go. She can't go back to Hermione, who will undoubtedly pester her with questions about Draco. She also doesn't want to talk to Harry, especially after she just accused him of being secretly in love with Hermione.

She bites her lip, then goes to the bathroom. It's still steamy from Hermione's bath. Ginny takes in a deep breath of warm air, then starts to run a bath of her own. While the water is running, Ginny stares at her reflection in the mirror.

_Malfoy told me he helped us 'for her,' and gave me that._

Ginny looks down at the chess piece in her hand and tears fill her eyes. None of this fits. If he really cared - and she'd been so sure he did - then why did he kill Fred? It hadn't been an accident. She'd seen the deliberation in Draco's gaze when he blasted that pillar toward him.

Ginny throws the queen hard against the wall, but it doesn't break. She never expected it to. She's sure he put some sort of protection charm on the piece before he gave it to her.

The bath is full now, so she turns off the water, then strips down and climbs into the tub. The warm water calms her slightly, but she can still feel her heart racing under her ribcage.

She keeps trying to clear her mind, but it's not working. _Calm down, Ginny,_ she tells herself. She knows she'll be fine. She was just shocked, that's all. She glares over at the chess piece, which is lying on the floor where she'd thrown it. She takes a deep breath, then lets herself remember the last time she saw the white queen.

_She is in her dormitory at Hogwarts, looking toward her bed. She can see the white chess piece sticking out from under her pillow and goes to grab it, but Draco yanks her arm, pulling her toward the door._

" _We don't have time, Ginny. You need to go!"_

" _I'm just going to get the queen, so I can get a hold of you," she nods toward her bed and he loosens his grip on her. They both hear voices yelling in the distance._

" _No time." He pulls her into the hall and shoves her into a shadow, then turns to meet two people who were levitating themselves up the staircase, since the stairs have become a slide._

" _What are you doing here, Draco?" Alecto Carrow asks when she reaches the landing. Draco responds with a stunning spell and she falls hard on her side. Ginny smirks, hoping the witch will be sore when she wakes up._

_Her brother, Amycus, has just reached the landing and is glaring at Draco, wide-eyed. He begins to curse Draco, but Ginny gets him before he can finish the incantation. The dark wizard slumps against the wall._

_Draco turns and gives Ginny an appreciative smile, then pulls her to the top of the slide. "Okay, time to go. There may be more people coming."_

_She looks down at the stunned bodies. "What about you? They'll know you're working against them."_

_Draco shakes his head. "I'll Obliviate them. Don't worry about me. Just go!"_

" _No! I-" It's too fast. She isn't ready to say goodbye. There are so many things she wants to say, but is unsure where to start._

_His eyes are swimming with concern and his voice is low and pleading when he speaks again. "Please go. I'm not going to be able to relax enough to deal with all this"- he motions to the stunned bodies on the landing -"until I know you're safe."_

" _Come with me, Draco."_

_His face falls and he shakes his head. "If it were just me, I would in a heartbeat. But I have my parents to consider. I can't leave them behind."_

_She understands. She holds a hand up to his face and he leans into it slightly. "You're better than this," she tells him. "Better than your name, and that Mark on your arm, better than they think you are. Don't forget."_

_His eyes fill with tears and he looks down. "We don't have time for this," but he doesn't pull away._

_She leans in and kisses his cheek, then whispers in his ear, "Be safe, Draco. Don't forget us, and don't let him break you. We're going to win this."_

_They hear pounding down below and he pulls her against his chest and jumps down the slide with her. When they reach the Gryffindor Common Room, they see Crabbe and Goyle stumbling into the empty room. "Go!" he tells her._

_Crabbe and Goyle are confused and let her pass._ Idiots _, she thinks to herself. She's not worried about Draco. He'll be able to stun them and clear their memories easily. She sprints down the hall toward the Room of Requirement, gripping her wand tightly._

Ginny looks at the white chess piece lying on the tile of the bathroom. Draco must have gone back to her room that night to get it. Then, he'd given it to Hermione a few weeks later, probably hoping she'd get it to Ginny somehow.

Ginny summons the white queen and reads the words on its side again. _Some pieces are more important than others._

She knows what the concept means, of course, but doesn't know what message he was trying to convey when he sent this. Was it before or after he killed Fred? Does it matter?

She's never felt so betrayed in her entire life. That damn Slytherin played her like a fool. But why? To what end? What did he stand to gain from it? He'd never once asked her for information and hated talking about Harry.

Ginny pushes the memories from her mind. She picks up her wand from the ground and taps the white marble. Draco's words disappear and are replaced with a message written in her own handwriting. _I will never forgive you for killing my brother._

She pictures Draco miles away, feeling a burning in his pocket, then checking and reading her message, written across his black queen in white.

She's about to send another message: _Never contact me again._ She holds her wand to the piece for several minutes, then eventually drops it. She can't make herself do it.

Ginny throws the queen and her wand across the bathroom before pulling her legs up and breaking down into sobs.

* * *

After her bath, Ginny returns to Harry's room, still eager to avoid Hermione. Luckily, he's already asleep when she gets in there. She slowly climbs into bed, careful not to wake him.

When she settles under the covers, he turns to her and mumbles something about Hermione. He's half asleep and his words are incoherent. Hermione? What is he talking about?

Then she remembers their last conversation and sighs. She can't make herself care about Hermione and whether or not Harry likes her. She has more important things on her mind. She silences Harry with a kiss and tells him they'll talk about it in the morning.

He nods and is asleep again in seconds. Ginny is up for hours trying to avoid thinking about Hogwarts, and chess, and detentions, before she finally drifts off to sleep.

* * *

Hermione leaves Ginny alone for a full day following the revelation that she is the owner of Draco's chess piece. It's clear Ginny doesn't want to talk about him, but it's also clear that she is their only chance of getting Draco to cooperate. There is clearly some sort of history between them.

Is it romantic? Hermione hasn't forgotten that look that came over Draco's eyes when he talked about Ginny. It was the only time he'd shown any sort of emotion. She dismisses the thought. Just because she wants that to be true, since it will give Ginny a reason to break up with Harry, doesn't mean it is.

Hermione needs to focus on Ginny and Draco, not her and Harry. When she sees Ginny escape to the yard after lunch, she follows her outside. Ginny is leaning against the railing and she stiffens when she turns and sees Hermione behind her.

Ginny turns back to face the fence. "I'm surprised you waited so long to ambush me."

"This isn't an ambush," Hermione says gently, joining her friend on the railing.

Ginny is quiet, then Hermione says, carefully, "He was your friend during that last year of Hogwarts, wasn't he?"

Ginny nods, but stays silent.

"And you cared for each other?"

Ginny drops her gaze and looks down at her hands, which are gripping the railing tightly. "We weren't together, if that's what you're asking. We were friends, and I thought he was different from the other Death Eaters, but I was wrong. He killed my brother, and I will never forgive him for it."

"Why haven't you told Harry?"

Ginny glares at her. "You know what he'll say. And it doesn't matter. We're not friends anymore. There's nothing to tell." Hermione senses a hint of disappointment in Ginny's tone, but doesn't say so.

She wonders sometimes, like now, if Ginny still loves Harry, or if she's just with him out of a sense of duty. She's never had the courage to ask. But looking at how torn and hurt Ginny has been since she's been plagued with thoughts of Draco this past day, Hermione felt it hard not to compare that abundance of emotion to the detached, almost indifferent attitude she's had with Harry lately.

Hermione sighs, then pulls Ginny's arm, turning her so she's facing her. Ginny looks at her, questioningly. "You're going to hate this, Ginny, but I have to say it."

Ginny nods and waits for Hermione to continue.

"We're out of leads. You heard what Severus told me, the only way into Malfoy Manor is with the help of a Malfoy. I could tell Draco still has some sort of...attachment to you."

Ginny sneers and moves to turn away, but Hermione catches her arm and keeps her in place. "If there was a relationship between you, even if it was just one-sided, you need to use it. We need him, Ginny."

Ginny tears her arm away from Hermione. "I'm not going to sleep with a Death Eater just to win this war," she snarls. "I'm not you."

Tears sting Hermione's eyes, but she maintains Ginny's gaze. Ginny is hurting, she reminds herself. She doesn't mean it. Ginny drops her eyes and looks contrite.

"I know what I'm asking, Ginny. I know it will be hard for you, but we need this. Just - think about what I said. Please."

Hermione rubs her hands up and down Ginny's arms and sighs before leaving her alone outside.

* * *

_August 1999 - Malfoy Manor_

Voldemort is sitting in Lucius's study, staring at Helga Hufflepuff's cup. The cup is sitting on a pedestal and surrounded by a box made of millions of tiny golden strings. The box looks innocent enough, but if anyone besides Voldemort reaches into it, their hand will be sliced clean off.

Voldemort has protected the cup with blood magic and used his own blood for the spell. Since he has no living relatives, that means he is the only one who can get to the cup. No one knows the details of the protections Voldemort placed around the cup and even if Potter's precious Seer gives him the information, it won't help the boy much.

Voldemort smiles at his own cleverness, then sees movement out of the corner of his eye. Nagini is slithering into the room. He pets her as she moves past him. It's just her and the cup. Those are the only things in this world keeping him immortal. He will not let Potter destroy either of them.

Voldemort's mind drifts to the hooded figure who disarmed Draco. He needs to find the identity of that man. Then he can get control of the Elder Wand and defeat Harry Potter once and for all.

He looks down at Nagini and considers sending her to Spinner's End, to fetch Severus, but decides against it. He needs to keep her close, at least, until Harry Potter is dead. He lifts the Elder Wand and summons Severus with his Dark Mark, ready to give the loyal wizard his next task.

* * *

_August 1999 - Spinner's End_

"The Dark Lord has given me a new job," Severus announces the next time Hermione sees him.

Her heart drops as dread creeps through her. She knows it is a good thing that Severus has been assigned a task, since it means Voldemort still considers him useful, but she fears for what that madman may ask Severus to do, but not as much as she fears what it will do to Severus when he's forced to obey.

"It's not too bad," Severus says, almost comfortingly, obviously picking up on her apprehension.

"What is it?" she asks, as casually as possible.

"He's ordered me to visit every one of his followers and do two things. First, cast a diagnostic spell on them. He's told me how to cast it and what I'm supposed to be looking for, but not what it means."

Hermione perks up at that. "Do you have any guesses?"

Severus nods. Of course he does. He's very clever. There's a reason he's managed to go undetected for this long. "I suspect it reveals the true owner of the Elder Wand. I believe Lucius told the Dark Lord about it before he was killed."

Hermione's heart stops at the mention of Lucius. _I killed my father just hours ago at the Dark Lord's request. You believe I can turn back from that?_

"I heard Lucius died, but not the circumstances of his death. Do you know more about that?" Hermione asks.

Severus shakes his head. "The Dark Lord didn't say anything about it when we spoke of my mission. But I assume he'll bring it up at the next meeting, in a few weeks."

Hermione nods. She considered telling Severus about Draco, but ultimately decided against it. It's safer, for both of them, if they don't know about each other. Plus, there's not really anything to tell about Draco. _Yet_ , she adds hopefully.

"What else do you need to do when you visit his followers? You said there were two things."

Severus smirks and shakes his head and Hermione is intrigued. "It's an odd request, one I don't understand."

"Oh?"

"He wants me to search their minds for any memories of a man. A cloaked figure with sandy hair and a large scar on his neck."

"A scar on his neck? Right here?" Hermione traces a line on the length of her neck on the left side.

Severus nods. "Yes, exactly there."

"But, that's-"

"I know," he cuts in. "The Dark Lord doesn't know the identity of the man and is desperate to find out."

"Why?!"

"I have no idea."

"What are you supposed to do when you find his identity?" she asks.

"I'm supposed to tell him immediately."

They share a smile. Hermione has no idea what Voldemort wants with him, but knows that he will never find who he's looking for. "What are you planning to do?" she asks Severus.

He shrugs. "I'll search the followers, of course, and stall for as long as possible. Then, eventually, I'll need to give him the identity of the cloaked figure."

"Yes," Hermione nods. "Of course."

They are silent for a few moments, likely each thinking about the same person.

Eventually, she breaks the silence. "Did You-Know-Who tell you anything else in your meeting?"

Severus shakes his head.

"And the diagnostic spell, can you show it to me?"

Severus cocks an eyebrow at her, but she tries not to give anything away. She's almost positive Harry is the master of the Elder Wand right now, but it would be nice to check with the spell, just to be certain. She doesn't want Severus to know, since it will be just one more thing he has to hide from Voldemort.

Severus understands this and although he usually knows when she's lying to him, or holding back, he rarely presses her on it. He shows her the spell twice, casting it on her, then stands back and lets her cast it on him. He gives her a curt nod to confirm she has it right and a small part of her expects him to award her house points.

She smiles to herself. Even if they were back at Hogwarts and she was his student and he was the Professor again, he wouldn't have given her points. She can't remember a time he'd ever given someone in her class praise.

He's smirking and she wonders if his thoughts are close to hers. She clears her throat and nods appreciatively at him. "I'm glad you have a task. I was getting worried You-Know-Who was done with you."

"Then I would no longer be useful to the Order, and you'd have to kill me," he says flatly.

"I - no - you know that's not what I meant."

He waves her off. "Of course not. Though I am curious how you would go about it, if Kingsley ordered you to do it. Poison wouldn't work - I'm a Potions master. And I doubt you'd have the ability to cast a killing curse."

He's teasing her, but something in his eyes makes her answer him honestly. Her answer to this question seems important to him, for some reason. And she wants him to know she is taking the war seriously.

"I'd stun you, then sever your carotid artery. It's the one right here," she touches the spot on her neck Kingsley showed her. "I know it's messy and not very efficient, but I believe I could manage it, if I had to."

He cocks his head at her and his eyes are deadly serious. "How would you stun me in the first place?"

She shrugs and looks around the room. "I'd distract you, somehow. I'm sure I can think of a way." She blushes as an obvious one comes to mind. If he notices, he doesn't give any indication.

Instead, he gives her a curt nod and looks almost proud. She thinks about the house points again.

"Anyway," she says, eager to change the subject, "I have one more question; it's personal."

"You're finally ready to tell me about those thoughts you can't control?"

Hermione shakes her head, then drops his gaze. "It's not personal for me. It's personal for you." He goes completely still and she's glad she can't see his face.

"What drives you to spy for us, day after day? You can die at any moment, and we both know if You-Know-Who discovers you, he won't kill you as quickly and painlessly as I would. But you keep doing it. Why?"

He is quiet and she doesn't think he's going to answer her. When she looks up at him, he is staring at a spot behind her head, but she suspects what he's seeing isn't behind her, but is something from a long time ago.

"You know why I do it," he says eventually. His voice sounds almost as far away as his gaze.

"Love," she answers for him, "or maybe even remorse. But - you've been fighting You-Know-Who for years. You've worked much longer on our side by now, than you did on his. When will it be enough?"

When he looks back at her, his face is blank. He's gotten control of his features and now he just looks annoyed. "Why does it matter?" he asks.

"I-" she doesn't know what to say. She wants to know why he does it, so she can figure out if Draco will do it for that same reason. But she can't tell Severus that. "I guess I'm worried you'll stop. Then we'll be screwed, won't we?" she adds with a weak smile.

He shakes his head and turns away from her. She's offended him and she feels terrible. Before she can backtrack, he speaks again. "One day, I hope to see her again, beyond the veil. If she'll talk to me, I want to apologize for the awful mistake I made - the one that ended in her death."

He pauses to take a deep, steadying breath. "That imagined conversation, one which I don't even know is possible, is what keeps me doing this. I want to be able to tell her that I dedicated my life to making up for that error in judgment...that I never gave up." His voice breaks at the end.

He doesn't look away though, but directly at Hermione. His dark eyes are fierce with determination and it reminds her of one the memories he gave her. The one where Dumbledore was teasing Severus, telling him he thought sometimes they sorted students too early.

"Good," she says, swallowing back tears. She has her answer but doesn't think it will apply to Draco. And to get it, she had to make Severus think she was doubting him. She hates herself for the lie and it makes her think of her earlier conversation with Ginny.

Hermione is discovering more and more about herself with each passing day - about the lengths she'll go to to win this war, and she's not happy with what she's learning. "I shouldn't have doubted you, Severus," she says, earnestly. "I won't do it again."

* * *

_August 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

A few days later, Hermione knocks on the open door of Harry's bedroom. He looks over and puts down his book when he sees her, then asks her to come in. They still haven't talked properly since their fight from over a week ago, but it's time for them to make up. She pulls a coin out of her pocket and hands it to him.

He looks at it, then smiles when he recognizes it. "Is this one of those coins from fifth year? The ones we used to schedule DA meetings?"

Hermione nods and climbs onto the bed. She sits on her knees across from him and pulls out a matching coin. "I know you were mostly angry about Adrian because you're worried about me."

"Yes, that's exactly it," he cuts in. "I never should have said any of the other-"

She holds her hand up and he stops speaking. "I know, really. Let's just move past it."

He nods and looks down at the coin in his hand.

"Anyway," she continues, "It occurred to me that when I'm with Adrian and Severus, I _am_ in a bit of danger and have no way of getting a message back to you all, besides sending a Patronus, which could be too obvious. So I made these. I gave one to Ron and Ginny, too."

She'd actually thought of this while waiting in that dark alley for Draco. But she hasn't told Harry and Ron about Draco yet. She's still waiting for Ginny to decide what she wants to do there.

Hermione gets up from the bed, then holds her hand out for Harry to shake. "Let's be done with this fight."

He looks down at her hand and his expression hardens. "It's Monday night. You're leaving soon, aren't you?"

She nods and drops her hand. "Yes. I'm going to check on Adrian to see if he has any information that could be useful for the Order."

"And then you're going to have sex with him."

She bites the inside of her cheek as anger courses through her. She was trying to make up with Harry, but he had to make it difficult, didn't he? She nods defiantly but when she looks up at him, he isn't angry. He looks devastated. It reminds her of another time he looked at her like that.

_She was standing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest with her hands braced on the trunk of a large tree, trying not to cry. She felt a hand on the small of her back and knew instantly it was Harry._

_When she turned to face him, she saw he looked as depressed as she felt. "I have no idea what to say," he started. "No words seem adequate."_

_She understood completely. What are you supposed to say when you've reached the end of something?_

_A twig snapped several feet away and they both turned to see who it was. It was Neville._

" _Sorry to interrupt," Neville said, "but it's-"_

Hermione pulls herself back to the present. She holds her hand out to Harry again. "Harry, this is a peace offering, just take it," she demands.

He smiles sadly, then shakes her hand.

Hermione's mind is on Harry the whole time she's with Adrian that night. Before arriving at his house, she tells herself she won't shag him (like she always does before she sees him) but a few hours later, they are talking in bed, after sex. He asks her something and she hums in response, not really listening.

The next moment, he's on top of her and has her pinned to the bed, holding her painfully by the wrists.

"Get off! You're hurting me!" Hermione cries out, alarmed by Adrian's sudden change in mood. His eyes are dangerous and unfocused.

"I told you not to go to him, but you did anyway, Lenora! I told you to stay safe! How am I supposed to protect you when you reach out to deadly Death Eaters?!" He squeezes her wrists tighter and she winces in pain. She'll certainly have bruises tomorrow.

"I'm sorry, Adrian," she says as soothingly as possible, finally piecing together what has happened. He must have asked her if she saw Draco, and she absently said yes.

"I didn't see Draco, I promise. And it's not Lenora. It's me, Hermione. I wasn't really listening to your question. My mind was elsewhere. That happens to you, too, doesn't it? Your mind drifts?"

His gaze softens, but his grip on her does not loosen.

"Let me go," she pleads. "You're hurting me, Adrian."

He seems to realize what he's doing, then pulls his hands away quickly. She sits up on the bed and rubs her wrist, already thinking of the remedies she'll apply when she gets back to Grimmauld Place. She takes a deep breath, then gets up and starts pulling on her clothes.

Adrian apologizes profusely while she changes, but she ignores him. This has gone too far. She needs to end it. He could have really hurt her just now, and she was powerless to stop him. Her wand was still in the pocket of her robes. She won't make that mistake again.

She's about to disapparate when he grabs her hand. She shakes him off roughly and he steps back, with his hand raised in the air. "Please forgive me, Hermione. I didn't mean it. I'm just so scared you'll get hurt."

 _We're in a war, Adrian,_ she thinks to herself. _We're all at risk of dying, every day._

"I know," she says, hating the gentle tone in her voice. "Just...stay safe. I'll see you next week."

She turns on her toe and reappears on the doorstep outside Grimmauld Place a second later. She pulls the coin out of her pocket and studies it. Waves of self-loathing pass through her, making her feel sick. She takes a breath, then returns the coin before walking back inside, eager for a nice, long bath.

* * *

The next night, Harry and Ginny are laying in his bed on their stomachs, playing chess. Harry has just lost for the third time in a row.

"You move too quickly," Ginny tells him. "You need to take a moment to assess a few moves ahead rather than just charging forward. That's your problem."

Harry shrugs and she can tell he doesn't care. Chess certainly isn't his game. He levitates the board onto the dresser, and sidles back on the bed next to her. "No more chess tonight. I don't know how many more times I can handle being defeated so thoroughly by my girlfriend."

Ginny smiles at him and he returns it, then starts playing with a strand of her hair. Ginny sees one of Hermione's coins on his nightstand. "Did you make up with Hermione?"

Harry nods. "I did. I'm sorry about all that. I promise I wasn't jealous. It's just - Hermione. She's like...I don't know...a sister. And nobody wants to see their sister sleeping with a Death Eater."

"He's not a Death Eater," she replies, and she can tell he's about to argue, so adds, "but let's not fight about it, please. I'm sick of talking about Hermione and Pucey."

He nods and turns onto his back, then pulls her against his chest. "You're right. I don't want to talk about that anymore, either. Let's talk about something happy. Tell me. What do you want to do once this war is over?"

Ginny smiles against his chest. She never lets herself think about this type of thing, but with the turmoil she's been living over the past few days as she works through her feelings about Draco, she welcomes the thought of a happy future, even if it is unlikely.

"I want to see the world," she says wistfully. "I want to visit every continent and see the best thing each has to offer. I want to play Quidditch again. I want to see weird, magical creatures I've never even heard about and eat wonderful, exotic foods, I want to - I don't know how to put it...live...I guess."

She looks up and sees Harry is regarding the ceiling with a very serious expression on his face. "Do you know what I mean?" she asks. She expected a different response from him. He stays silent and she wonders what he's thinking.

"I'm so sick of being cooped up in this house," she continues. She feels like she needs to defend her answer for some reason. "I guess I want the exact opposite of that."

He's still quiet.

"What about you, Harry? What do you want to do?" Ginny presses.

"My answer is different," he says, like he's surprised by his own words.

"That's okay," she says quickly. "We're different people, so it's no surprise we'd have different responses. Tell me what you want to do after the war."

He is quiet for a while longer. When he speaks again, his voice is flat and completely devoid of emotion. "When I was younger, before I knew I was a wizard, I dreamed of excitement. Then, well, I got it, didn't I?"

He laughs darkly and keeps his eyes on the ceiling. "If we make it through this alive, I want nothing more than a normal life. Normal. I hated that word growing up, but I yearn for it now. A simple house, a family who loves me, and a good job."

He finally looks down at her and smiles apologetically. "It's boring, I know. But that's my answer."

Ginny is disappointed but tries to hide it. Harry has just described exactly how she grew up. It was the life her parents had, but one she's never dreamed of for herself. She wonders, as she has before, if Harry only ever loved her because she was a Weasley. She also wonders if she only ever loved him because he was famous and exciting.

She lifts her head to look at him and sees him watching her. By the look in his eye, she thinks that maybe he's wondering the same things. His next words confirm it. He raises a hand to push a tendril of hair behind her ear. "At the end of this - we aren't together, are we, Ginny?"

He doesn't say it challengingly, or even sadly. He just sounds matter-of-fact.

 _No, we aren't_ , her heart says, but she remembers Ron's words from a few weeks ago and the conversation between Kingsley and her parents from last year. She has a job in this war, and that is to keep Harry hopeful. How can he carry on with his impossible task if he can't imagine a happy future?

Ginny plasters a smile on her face and bends down to kiss his collarbone. "What are you talking about? Do you say that because we had different answers? Don't be ridiculous, Harry. After this is all over, we'll talk seriously about this, then compromise, like all couples do."

Harry regards her for several moments, his green eyes sad, then he pulls her against his chest and squeezes her tightly. They go to bed shortly after since the conversation is over.

While they lie in bed, she can tell by his uneven breathing that he's awake, like her, but doesn't talk to him. She wonders if Harry is thinking about the future, like she is. When he imagines his ideal future, does he truly see Ginny there? Didn't he sort of tell her as much, just now?

She thinks of the future he described, so similar to her childhood. Was it so bad? As she thinks of it, she feels suffocated. It's just like the life she's living now, isn't it? Stuck in this house, tiptoeing around her boyfriend as she tries hard to keep him happy. Worried that if she upsets him, the Wizarding World will lose their best chance of defeating the darkest wizard of all time.

She turns to her side, away from Harry. It's not worth worrying about being trapped in some nebulous future that she may or may not get to. She's trapped right now.

She slips out of bed and when Harry asks where she's going, she says she needs to use the loo. Once she gets to the bathroom in the hall, she sits on the edge of the tub and pulls the chess piece out of the pocket of her shorts. She looks at it for several moments, chewing her lip as she does so.

She may hate Draco, and he may be the last person she wants to see, but Hermione's right, they need him. And for some impossible reason, he said he'd talk to her. If she ever wants to be free of this house and live that dream she'd described to Harry, they need to win this war, first.

With that thought in her head, she lifts her wand and taps the top of the white queen. Her words from before disappear and are replaced with a short sentence, also written in her handwriting. _We need to meet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: We hear you Ginny. We all know what it feels like to be cooped up in a house, dreaming about seeing the world…
> 
> Continued thanks to my betas Lancashire Witch and Kimmeh B. The next chapter will be posted Tues, Mar-9.


	7. The New Spy

**Part 3 - Discovery**

_"Shite," Ginny swore. "What the hell?"_

_"Language, Weasley," he replied with a smirk. "That was called a discovery, or a discovered attack. Something you didn't see until one piece moved out of the way. That's why you need to take time to study the board before just moving the pieces all around."_

_"I hate when the pieces talk to me," she admitted, leaning on her elbows and covering her ears with her hands. "I just move quickly to shut them up. But then I end up with you blabbing at me instead," she added with a smirk._

_"You prefer peace and quiet, do you?" he asked. "I'm sure that was hard to find when you were growing up."_

_She leaned away from the table and looked at him, curiously "Are we talking about our childhoods now? What happened to 'just chess?'"_

_"We're talking about your childhood, not mine."_

_He was quiet and she wasn't sure if he was expecting her to keep talking or if he was trying to formulate a suitable question about her past. He was very bad at small talk. She leaned toward the board again and tried to work out her next move, looking a few moves ahead, like he'd said._

_"You need to learn to shield your mind," he said, seemingly out of nowhere._

_She shrugged and kept her eyes on the chess board. "Maybe. But I don't know where I'm going to learn that."_

_"From me, of course. Who else?" He said it so matter-of-factly, like the idea wasn't completely ridiculous._

_"You?!"_

_He shrugged. "Snape is the only other Occlumens at the school and I doubt he'll teach you. So it has to be me."_

_"But...you'll see my thoughts."_

_"Not if you do a good job," he pointed out. "Plus, you seem like one of those people who just says what they're thinking. Do you really have anything to hide in there?"_

_She regarded him for a long while, then shook her head. "No. No thank you."_

_He smirked._

_"What?" she asked him._

_"You'll change your mind. Once you realize how valuable it will be after you join the war."_

_She was about to point out that this was more proof he wasn't dedicated to his side's cause, but didn't. They'd already established he was the worst ever Death Eater and she knew it made him uncomfortable every time she brought it up. She leaned back and crossed her arms. "You think you know me so well, don't you?"_

_He nodded._

_She rolled her eyes, then said mockingly, "I'm Draco Malfoy. I can hide my thoughts, but read everyone else's right off their face. I'm wonderful and pureblooded and smart. Charming and handsome. Incredible at chess...okay at Quidditch-"_

_"I'm amazing at Quidditch," he cut in._

_"You're okay," she repeated._

_"I also didn't miss the charming and handsome part."_

_"I-" she faltered. "That was just me saying what you think about yourself."_

_"Except for the Quidditch part, since we just established I think I'm amazing."_

_She blushed and looked down at the chessboard again. "Shut up."_

_"What would Longbottom say if he knew his girlfriend was pining after Slytherins?"_

_"Merlin, you are so annoying. Back to chess."_

* * *

**Chapter 7 - The New Spy**

_August 1999 - Hyde Park_

Draco responded to Ginny's message in less than an hour. She was lying in bed next to Harry when she felt the chess piece burn in her pocket and rushed to the hall to read his response. He'd sent coordinates along with a time and date. He wanted to meet the following night.

Currently, Ginny and Hermione are in the Muggle park where the coordinates on the chess piece led. They've just spotted Draco on a bench across the field, near a lake. He is wearing Muggle clothes, but otherwise, has made no attempt to disguise himself.

Hermione nods to Ginny, confirming that all her spells say that Draco has come alone. "I'll be right under there," Hermione whispers, nodding toward a tree a few feet away. Ginny nods, but her attention is on the blond wizard on the bench.

He's sitting up straight, like he always does, facing away from them. Does he know she's already arrived? Why did he pick a park in London? Does he know she's been staying in the city? Does he really want to help them? If so, why?

Ginny silences the thoughts in her mind. She needs to be impassive, focused, and strong. She pulls her shoulders back and lifts her chin, then slowly walks over to him. When she reaches the bench, she expects him to turn to her, or say something, but he doesn't react. He stays staring at the lake in front of them.

She takes a seat next to him and watches the same lake while she waits for him to say something. He doesn't.

After a few moments, she sighs and breaks the silence. "We need your help."

"Yes. I'd gathered that."

She rolls her eyes. He's as insufferable as he was at Hogwarts. "Will you help us?"

"That depends."

She sighs again, trying to keep her temper under control. All she wants to do right now is wring his neck. "On what?" she asks.

"I need something too," Draco says, reluctantly.

"Oh," she's surprised. She hadn't expected him to ask for something in return, but it makes sense. Though she can't imagine what he'd want. "What is it?"

He finally turns to look at her. He looks terrible, like he hasn't slept in weeks. Her heart jolts at the despair she sees in his eyes, but she tries not to let anything show on her face. "It's not something you, personally, can provide. I'll need to work it out with Shacklebolt."

Ginny frowns. "If you wanted to speak to Kingsley, then why didn't you just tell Hermione? She could have set it up and I wouldn't have had to come see you tonight."

"Is it so bad, seeing me?" he asks. She's caught off guard by the question.

"Of course it is!" she yells back at him. "You killed my brother! You betrayed my trust! I _hate_ you! And then you sit here and act like it all didn't happen?"

His jaw twitches slightly, but he seems otherwise unaffected by her tirade.

"Why did you make me come here, tonight?" she asks.

"I thought that would be obvious," he says, turning back to look at the lake.

She crosses her arms. "Well, it's not. Just tell me what you want from me, Dra- Malfoy."

The edges of his mouth twitch up slightly and she nearly punches the almost-smirk off his face. He turns back to her.

"Okay, _Weasley_ , I'll spell it out for you clearly. I will spy for your side and help in any way I can (within reason). In return for my services, I'll need something from Shacklebolt. While I spy, _you_ will be my handler. That's why I wanted to see you tonight, to make sure you'll be up to the task."

She looks back at him, horrified. "Me? Why? I'm not a handler. There are others Kingsley will assign. People who will be better suited-"

"No," he cuts in. "I will give reports to you, and no one else."

She reaches for his arm, but drops her hand at the last minute. "Draco, please," she's begging and hates herself for it a bit, but is desperate at this point. He looks back at her curiously.

"If there is an ounce of decency left in you, any lingering feelings of friendship toward me, you won't do this. I hate you, more than I hate the Carrows, or even You-Know-Who. The thought of seeing you regularly makes me want to vomit."

There's a glint of something in his eyes she can't place, but the rest of his face stays blank. "Having to see you will be like torture for me. Don't you think you've already hurt me enough?"

When she finally stops talking, her heart is racing. She takes several breaths, counting them as she waits for Draco to respond. His eyes soften slightly, and she thinks for a brief moment that he understands and will request another handler. Then he turns away from her and says harshly, "Dramatic as always, Ginny. You, or no one else. We'll use the chess pieces to communicate."

He gets up to leave and as he walks away, she yells at his back. "You're despicable! When I said you were more than your name and your family, I was wrong! You're just as bad as the madman you serve!"

He keeps walking and she may as well be yelling at no one, but she keeps it up anyway, until eventually, he disappears into the darkness.

* * *

_August 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

The next night, Hermione cooks an elaborate dinner for the boys while Ginny meets with Draco and Kingsley. Hermione wants to put Harry and Ron in a good mood before breaking the news to them about Draco.

She is surprised Draco agreed to spy for them so quickly. She thought Ginny would have to persuade him more, but she told Hermione that he agreed to help them almost immediately, because he needed something from Kingsley.

Hermione hopes Kingsley will provide it, but she knows Ginny hopes the opposite. She doesn't want to have to see Draco every week, but she'll do it anyway. Ginny understands that Draco is their best shot at getting the cup from Malfoy Manor.

Once Hermione serves dinner, Ron starts shoveling food onto his plate enthusiastically. Harry doesn't and looks at Hermione warily. "Why did you make all this? What bad news do you have for us?"

Ron stops mid-bite. "Bad news? What do you mean?"

Hermione waves him off. "Don't be ridiculous. I just wanted to make a nice meal for my two best friends. Now eat."

Harry crosses his arms and leans back. "Just tell us. We can eat after getting the bad news."

She hates how perceptive he is sometimes. She sighs. "I do have something to tell you two, but it isn't bad. No one's dead or captured or injured, or anything like that," she adds and sees Harry relax a little. "Just eat, and I'll tell you after dinner."

"Is it about Ginny?" Ron cuts in, his mouth half full of food. "Do you know why Kingsley needed to meet with her?"

"Yes," Hermione says, spooning food onto her plate. "But don't worry about her, she's fine and I'll tell you more after we eat. Now, let's have a nice dinner."

Harry glares at her and she glares back. He knows she's the more stubborn one out of the two of them and eventually he sighs and starts putting food on his plate.

The boys inhale their food and watch impatiently while Hermione eats, eager for her to finish her dinner so she can tell them her big news. She's stalling, though, and eats slowly, since she knows they aren't going to like what she has to say.

After she finishes, she gets up and pours them all glasses of Butterbeer, then sits back down. Ron cocks an eyebrow at her. "Butterbeer? Wow, this must be bad."

She takes a deep breath and decides to launch right into it. "Ginny is with Kingsley, right now, working out the details of setting up Draco Malfoy as a spy for the Order. She's going to be his handler."

Both boys' jaws drop and Hermione almost laughs, but refrains. She waits for one of them to say something. It's Harry who speaks first. "What?"

Hermione starts her story at the beginning. She tells them how it was Draco who saved them from the Snatchers, not Severus, and why she kept it a secret. Then she tells them how she cornered Draco outside the Leaky Cauldron, over a week ago, and asked for his help.

She leaves out the specifics about Ginny and the chess piece, but tells them about how Draco needs something from Kingsley and as long as Kingsley agrees to help, he'll spy for the Order and assist in any way he can.

"But, where does Ginny factor into all this?" Ron asks. "Why does she have to be his handler? She _hates_ him."

Hermione nods and looks down. This is the part where she has to lie and she's worried they're going to see right through her, since she's such an awful liar. "Draco requested that his handler be an Occlumens. Kingsley can't spare any of his Order members, since they're so busy as is, so he said it needs to be one of us. Ginny's the only one out of the four of us who knows Occlumency."

"When did all this happen? Why didn't she tell me?" This question is from Harry. He looks hurt and Hermione rushes to reassure him.

"Ginny didn't know anything about it. It was all me. I spoke to Draco on my own, then went to Kingsley. She's finding out about it all for the first time tonight."

Harry's green eyes flash with anger. "So it was _you_ who kept this from all of us?" He looks over at Ron, who is also angry now.

Hermione nods and looks down again. "Yes, I kept it from you, and I'm sorry. Honestly Harry, this all happened in the past few weeks and you've been too busy glaring at me for daring to sleep with Adrian. And Ron," she turns to look at him and he looks affronted.

"I wasn't yelling at you about Pucey," he says defensively. "You could have told _me_."

She nods. "I really should have, Ron. I don't have a great excuse, except that when I reached out to Malfoy, I knew it was a risk and that he might kill me. I knew if I told you, you'd come with me to see him and I didn't want to risk your life, too, just in case I was wrong."

Ron looks horrified, then reaches for her hand across the table. "I would have certainly come with you to see that slimy bastard, whether my life was in danger or not. You can't run off alone, Hermione. It's bad enough you go to see Snape and Pucey alone each week, but going on entire missions on your own...? Please, promise me, you won't do anything like this again."

Hermione places her free hand on top of his and nods. "You're right. If it was one of you, I'd hex you for going off alone. I'm sorry, I just -" she cuts off, unsure how to put into words how detached she's felt lately. "I've just been feeling," she starts again, but this time Harry interrupts her off.

"It's my fault."

She turns to look at him. He's regarding her warily and looks a little ashamed. "You've been distant with the rest of us and have been pulling away for months. We've all noticed it, but I was the one who pushed you farther. I'm so disappointed you did all this without telling us, but I can't even be angry with you, since I know it was because of me."

_That statement is truer than you realize, Harry._

Hermione takes a deep breath and reaches the hand not holding Ron's across the table to Harry. He looks at her palm on the table for a moment before covering it with both of his. She squeezes both Harry and Ron's hands. "Let's just move past this, okay? We know the hardest part of the war is ahead of us and if we're going to get through it, we need to stay together."

"Yes, of course," Harry says and Ron nods in agreement.

Hermione drops both of their hands and grips her cold glass of Butterbeer tightly before taking a sip. "Good, thank you. Now I do have more to tell you, if you want."

Ron waves for her to continue. "Yes, please. Get it all out." He winks at her before taking a large gulp of his Butterbeer.

She tells them about Severus's new job and the spell Voldemort wants him to try on all of his followers. Hermione pauses to try the spell on Harry, and they all smile when he glows a faint gold.

"To Harry!" Ron says, raising his Butterbeer glass, "the master of the most powerful wand in the world!" They clink glasses and drink, then Hermione continues. Next, she tells them about the cloaked figure with sandy hair and a scar on his neck who is currently plaguing Voldemort.

"Does he mean Lupin?" Harry asks.

Hermione nods, beaming widely. "He does. Severus recognized him, instantly."

"What does he want with him? He's dead," Ron says, pointedly. They all pause, looking at each other sadly, as they undoubtedly remember the terrible circumstances of his death.

"I know," Hermione says, after taking a deep breath. "Severus doesn't know what he wants with Lupin, but I think it's a good thing that whatever it is, he'll never get it. And it's an easy mission for Severus too; one that doesn't put him in much danger."

Hermione can tell the boys want to roll their eyes but they both refrain, which she takes as a good sign.

"Any other secrets?" Harry asks.

Hermione thinks for a moment. "Oh, yes, there's one more," she says in a low voice. "When I talked to Malfoy, he told me he killed his father, just last week."

Harry jumps to his feet. "We have to get to Ginny. If Malfoy is dark enough to kill his own father, it's not safe for her to be with him."

Hermione grabs his arm and pulls him back into his chair. "I told her, she knows, and Kingsley does too. She's fine, Harry. Malfoy's not going to harm her. He could have hurt me a number of times and never did. I don't know what's driving him to help us, but I'm sure he doesn't intend us any harm."

"How are you so sure?" Ron asks.

Hermione shrugs. She has no idea. It's more of a feeling than something she can put into words. The look in Draco's eyes when he gave her that chess piece, the aura of sadness and self-loathing that surrounds him - so similar to Severus.

Even Ginny, who admittedly knows Draco better than her, doesn't trust him, but Hermione does. Maybe she's being naive and overly hopeful, but someone has to be. If it wasn't for her blind faith in him, they'd never have gotten Malfoy to work with them.

"I just have a feeling," Hermione says eventually.

"Okay…" Ron says, warily. "Anything else?"

Hermione shakes her head. "That's it. Really."

"Really?" Harry asks.

 _No, not really,_ she thinks. There's still the secret about whatever went on between Ginny and Draco at Hogwarts, but she reasons that's Ginny's secret to tell, not hers. And there's the secret about how her mind is constantly playing through scenes of Harry and her together, but she figures now is not the best time to let that one out.

"Yes, really. More Butterbeer?"

A little while later, Ron excuses himself to the loo and Hermione gets up and goes to the sink to clean their dishes. She feels Harry at her side the next moment.

"I don't need you to do this by magic," she jokes, but he doesn't respond. She looks over and sees that he has his eyes on the dishes and is biting his lip nervously. She rinses her hands, then wipes them on her jeans and turns to face him. "What's wrong?"

"You've been the most supportive person in my life. You never gave up on me. Even Ron doubted, in fourth year, and again last year, but not you."

Hermione nods and gives him a small smile.

"And I was so awful to you," he places a tentative hand on her shoulder and his gaze shifts to his fingers, which are gently playing with the sleeve of her shirt. He looks like he wants to say a hundred more things, but can't figure out where to start. She knows exactly how he feels.

But ultimately, he stays quiet. "You already apologized, Harry, and I forgave you."

"Why?" he whispers.

"Because you're sort of going through a lot. And it's normal for people to take out their frustrations on the ones they love most."

The statement saddens him further, instead of comforting him, like she'd meant it to. She snakes her arms around his middle and grabs her wrist behind his back. "Stop beating yourself up so much, Harry, and just be nicer to me."

He laughs, then pulls her tight against him and she lays her head against his chest. "I will. I promise."

They stay there for a long time, holding each other, when the front door clicks open and someone rushes upstairs.

"Ginny," Harry says. He pulls away, reluctantly.

_No, Hermione, not reluctantly. That's just in your head. He's with Ginny! Get a grip._

"You should go, she'll need you."

He nods and leaves her alone in the kitchen.

She's leaning against the sink, lost in thought, when she hears Ron's voice from the doorway. "You look like you need a hug."

 _It was a hug that did this to me,_ she thinks to herself. She stays silent, and nods. Ron crosses the room and envelopes her in an all-consuming embrace. He gives the best hugs.

After a while, Ron props his chin on her head and says, "There's another secret, isn't there?"

Hermione nods.

"And you're not going to tell me what it is."

She shakes her head. "It's not about the war, it's just something personal."

He leans back and looks at her sadly, then pulls her back against his chest. "Whenever you're ready-"

"I know where to find you," she finishes for him. "I know, Ron. Thanks." She does want to tell him, to finally have someone else know. But how do you explain to your friend who is counting on you to be brainy and witty, that you're fairly certain you're going mad?

* * *

_August 1999 - Kingsley's Flat_

Draco and Kingsley have been in the study of Kingsley's flat in London for almost an hour, while Ginny paces the main room, nervously. What could they have to talk about for so long? And why doesn't Draco want Ginny to know about it? If he trusts her enough to be his handler, he should trust her enough to know this, too.

 _It doesn't matter,_ she tells herself. _He's just a stupid ferret. Who cares about his damn secrets? Just get what you need from him, then you'll never have to see him again._

She approaches the door of the study and leans against it, straining her ears, but isn't surprised when she hears nothing. She knows the two wizards inside are incredibly cautious and one (or maybe even both) of them probably put a silencing charm on the door.

Just then, the door clicks open and Kingsley comes out. She expects Draco to follow him, but Kingsley just shuts the door behind him.

"What is it?" she asks. "What does he want? Can you give it to him?"

Kingsley nods solemnly. "I can. In exchange, he'll spy for us until the war ends, which we've defined as the day either You-Know-Who or Harry dies."

Ginny shakes her head. "No. We don't need him for that long. We just need the cup from his house. Then he can-"

"Ginny," he interrupts her and sounds stern. "We have a very well-placed spy, willing to work for us for as long as it takes to win, and you want to release him after his first assignment? I thought you were smarter than that."

She pouts but knows he's right. It would be stupid to release Draco before the war is over, and she doesn't know how big whatever he's asked for is. "What does he want?" she repeats.

"I'm bound to keep it to myself," Kingsley says cryptically. He regards her for a few moments. Before she can do anything to defend herself, he's in her mind.

A few memories from her time with Draco at Hogwarts flash by quickly, before she is able to regain control and push Kingsley out. He stumbles back, nearly hitting the table behind him.

"What was that for?" she asks, rubbing her head, which is a little sore from the unexpected attack. She wonders if he was able to glean anything from the memories he saw before she threw them out, but thinks not. He only saw each one for a few seconds.

"I was just checking something," Kingsley is appraising her with a small smile. "He was right about you. It's certainly not the type of Occlumency style a spy would need, but it's effective."

She nods, still scowling at him. Draco has told her this before.

Kingsley straightens his robes and pulls his wand out of his pocket. "Anyway, I need to go. You can use this flat for as long as you need to work out the details of your meetings. It's secure."

He steps back and disapparates with a loud crack. At the sound of Kingsley leaving, Draco emerges from the study. He closes the door, then leans his back against it, watching her. Ginny glares back at him. This is the first time she's had a chance to study him tonight. Earlier, he rushed into the room with Kingsley without even looking her way.

He looks better rested than he did the night before, at the park. His hair is shorter than it was in school, she notices for the first time. It's cropped close on the side and little longer on top, but not long enough to fall into his face, like it used to. She wonders if the short hair is better for all the battles he fights in.

He's thinner too, but so is she, and all her friends. She thinks no one is eating very well these days. He seems a little more muscular as well. Not by very much, but she guesses he's probably been training, then sneers when she thinks of what he's been training for. To kill her friends and family.

The biggest difference between this Draco and the one she knew from school are his eyes. In Hogwarts, they were the only way she could pick emotions off his face. She'd seen them shine with amusement, or flicker with irritation. A few times, even well with tears. But now they are completely dead.

"Well, what's the verdict? Still handsome?" he asks flatly, like her reply doesn't matter to him.

She doesn't dignify that stupid question with a response. "We'll meet once a week, you can pick the day, and the location." He starts to move toward her, but she ignores him and keeps talking. "We'll use the chess pieces to communicate outside of those meetings."

He has stopped in front of her and is holding his arm out to her. She thinks, bizarrely, that he wants to dance with her. She takes a step back. "What are you doing?"

"Take my hand."

She crosses her arms. "No."

He rolls his eyes. "Okay. We'll do this the hard way." He lunges to the right and she moves to meet him, but realizes, too late, it was a feint. Before she can stop him, he's grabbed her other arm and is disapparting them away.

They reappear less than a second later in the middle of a posh flat. She figures by the short amount of travel that it is still in London, somewhere. She catches a glimpse of Big Ben out of the window, which confirms it. "What the hell, Malfoy?"

She shoots a stinging hex at him, but he blocks it with a wave of his hand. She starts. He's gotten good at fighting. A lot better than her. He must have been holding back at Gringotts. She's suddenly scared but doesn't let it show. She straightens her spine and lifts her chin up, glaring challengingly into his blank eyes.

"Stand down, Ginny," he says, in a bored tone. "This is where we'll meet. Take a moment to study it so you can apparate directly here next week."

She gives him a nasty look, then slowly walks around the flat. It's Muggle, which is odd for him, but she figures that's the point. No one would expect him to be hiding out in a Muggle flat. It doesn't seem to be lived in and she wonders what he uses it for. Meetings with his handler, obviously, but besides that.

"Okay, I've got it. And just so you know, if you touch me again, I'll hex you."

"And I'll block it," he says, simply.

She lets the jibe slide. He wants to get a rise out of her and the best defense against that is to stay cool and collected. Unfortunately, no one has ever used those two words to describe her. Ginny takes a deep breath and turns back to him. She's annoyed to find that he's still smirking at her. She wants so badly to punch him, but refrains. She should get an Order of Merlin for her restraint.

"We need to get into Malfoy Manor. You-Know-Who is hiding a cup there. It's gold with two handles on either side."

"I've seen it."

Ginny's eyes widen in surprise. "Oh, you have? Can you get it?"

"It's protected with a strange spell. I haven't been able to figure it out."

She's surprised he already tried to get at the cup. What was he planning to do with it once he figured out how to get it? Does he know about the Horcruxes?

Draco is watching her curiously and she focuses back on him. She can puzzle over all this later. "Okay, well, find out about that, if you can. But if not, just, we need a safe way into and out of the Manor, ideally one that won't implicate you, but if we have to…"

"I get it. This cup is more important than my life. Anything else?"

"No - uh - for now, just find out what you can about the cup and how to get around the wards."

"Fine."

He looks away from her, out the window. "Why me?" The words come unbidden out of her mouth. "You know I'm not as qualified as the others in the Order. You probably could have demanded Kingsley himself, if you wanted."

"I know that," he keeps his gaze on something outside the window. After several moments, she can tell he's not going to say anything else.

Ginny tries another question. "What did you ask Kingsley for?"

When he looks back at her, he's smirking again, and she's caught off guard by his sudden change in mood. He stalks toward her and stops when he's just a foot away. She resists the urge to step back and stands her ground. "I knew you were lying last night."

"What are you talking about?"

"If just my mere presence offended you as much as you said, you wouldn't be trying to extend this meeting for as long as possible, would you?"

Her face twists in disgust. "I'm not trying to extend this. I'm just trying to get information out of my informant."

"Sure you are." He glares down at her and she matches his gaze, itching to hex him, or just push him over, but she stays still.

"We're done. You can let yourself out." He turns back toward the window and she follows after him, about to tell him off for trying to run these meetings and remind him that she's the handler and therefore the one in charge. But when she catches his reflection in the glass, she stops in place.

He looks sadder than she's ever seen him. She almost reaches for him, before remembering herself and pulling her hand back, violently. At the sudden movement, Draco's eyes flash to meet hers in the window and he quickly gets his features under control. He steps to the side and before Ginny can say anything else, he turns on his toe and disapparates.

* * *

_August 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

"Stop squirming," Ginny scolds.

"You're tickling me," Hermione says defensively, then takes a deep breath and her foot is still again, so Ginny can continue painting her toenails.

"Isn't there a spell for this?" Hermione asks. Ginny is not surprised she doesn't know. Hermione knows next to nothing about makeup charms which is too bad, since if she spent more than five minutes on her appearance each morning, she could be truly beautiful.

"There is a spell," Ginny answers, "but it's not like we don't have the time to do it the Muggle way. I'll use the spell at the end to clean it all up."

"I saw you and Harry talking earlier, is he okay with this Malfoy thing?" Hermione asks.

Ginny nods, keeping her eyes on Hermione's toes. "I don't know what you did there, Hermione, but I really owe you. There hasn't been a hint of suspicion from Ron or Harry about why Draco chose me to be his handler. They're just treating me like a victim in all of this."

"And why _did_ Malfoy choose you to be his handler?"

Ginny shrugs. "I have no idea. I think he told Kingsley it's because I'm an Occlumens."

"Well, at least that matches what I told the boys."

Ginny nods and can feel Hermione's eyes on her. She knows all she has to do is wait, and Hermione will say what's on her mind. "Ginny?"

Ginny smirks to herself. "Yeah?"

"What happened between you two at Hogwarts? You can tell me; I can see it's bothering you."

Ginny wants to tell her everything, but isn't ready to right now. It still hurts too much to think about. Hermione is looking at her, concerned.

"There's nothing to tell. We were friends. He helped me with little pranks and every time I was caught, he was the one to give me detention, which was just playing chess in the Prefects' office. When he heard one of the Carrows was coming for me, he came to warn me so I could escape in time. Then, a few weeks later, he killed Fred."

A few tears escape her eyes and Ginny wipes them away with the back of her hand. "I thought Draco was different, that he was forced into it by his parents. But he didn't have to kill Fred. That, he did on his own."

Hermione is quiet and Ginny is glad for it. They don't talk again until Ginny has finished with Hermione's feet.

They lay back on the bed and Hermione casts a spell to turn the ceiling into stars. Ginny smiles. It reminds her of the Great Hall at night. Hermione, on the other hand, is grumbling about how a lot of the constellations are wrong until Ginny finally shushes her.

"Do you have any advice for me about being a handler?"

"There's not much to it," Hermione replies. "You just get him to tell you about his most recent encounters with You-Know-Who and any other information that may be helpful to the Order. He's smart, he'll know what is and isn't useful to us."

Ginny nods. It sounds so simple. But in practice, talking to Draco is as bad as collecting Bubotuber pus.

"Oh, and this is obvious, but I'll say it anyway. Don't tell him anything about what's going on our side unless he really needs to know. It seems odd, since he'll spend so much time telling you all his secrets, but it really is better for everyone if he doesn't know very much. Just in case."

"That makes sense. Anything else?"

Hermione is silent and when Ginny turns her head to face her, she sees Hermione is seriously considering something. Eventually she nods and turns to face Ginny.

"I'll tell you what helps me with Severus, but I don't think it will really apply to you and Draco."

"That's fine. What is it?"

"Severus can be very sour, and many times he'll spend most of our meetings insulting me and the Order. Those days, I try to remind myself how hard it is for him. He's living a lie and has been for years. He has no real friends, no one to paint toenails with"- she pauses to smile, -"or even someone to confide in. Just me."

Ginny nods and looks back up at the stars. "Can you imagine how lonely it must be to not just be isolated from everyone, but scared for your life? That's why he lashes out at me, I think, because I'm the only person in his life he _can_ lash out at. Our meetings are the only time he can speak freely and be himself. And I think that part of my job as his handler is to stand back and let him get it all out."

Ginny bites her lip. Is Hermione saying she's supposed to stand back and let Draco treat her like shite? She's never been one to let people walk all over her.

"I remind myself how brave he is, and it helps me put up with his moods," Hermione continues. "But Severus is different, obviously. He's been fighting with us for years and has never murdered any of my friends or family."

Ginny smiles darkly, keeping her eyes on the stars, and Hermione gives her a small hug. "I know you hate Draco, and you have good reason to. But, perhaps he's seen the error in his ways, or maybe he has some entirely different motivation. Regardless, he is risking his life to help us and every day, he has to lie to the most depraved, yet powerful wizard of all time and do terrible things while pretending to like it. It's easy for people in our position to sit back and judge what they do. But without spies helping on the inside, we aren't going to be able to win this. Try to remember that."

A tear falls down Ginny's face and Hermione gently wipes it away. "How do you always see the good in people like that, Hermione?"

Ginny sees her shrug out of the corner of her eye. "It's not just me. Harry does it too. It's why he refused to kill Peter in third year and was able to forgive Severus almost instantly, even though he tormented Harry for years."

"Yeah, well then that's two people in the house who are much better than me," Ginny mutters bitterly.

Hermione nudges her side. "Give yourself a break. You're not so bad, Ginny."

* * *

_September 1999 - Draco's Flat_

The next Thursday (the day Draco chose for their meetings), Ginny apprates to the flat he showed her the week before. He is sitting at one of the chairs by the window with his feet stretched out in front of him. He glares at her like she's late, but she checks her watch and confirms she's right on time.

She sits in the chair opposite him and waits for his report. He doesn't say anything.

Ginny sighs. "Did you learn anything this past week?"

"I learned a lot of things. I'm an avid reader. It's a nice way to pass the time, and it's good for the mind," he taps his head with his index finger.

Ginny rolls her eyes. "You know that's not what I meant. Do you know how You-Know-Who is protecting the cup?"

Draco watches her for several moments, then starts to talk. "There is a magical box surrounding it made of thousands of tiny gold strings. I have no idea how it works or how to disarm it. I haven't been in the room without the Dark Lord."

Ginny remembers then, that he regularly spends time with You-Know-Who. The thought makes her shudder. "May I see?"

He regards her for several moments, then nods. She hadn't expected him to agree.

She takes a breath, then stands and crosses the room. When it's clear he's not going to stand to make this easier for her, she crouches next to him, then shifts so she is sitting up on her knees, level with him. She pulls out her wand and points it at him, then slowly looks him directly in the eyes.

They are blank, like they were last week.

 _Except for the last few moments, when he looked like he was about to cry_ , she thinks. _Stop! Be professional, Ginny._

She takes a breath, but hesitates. What's wrong with her? She's performed this spell on him countless times before. Before she can talk herself out of it, she lifts her wand and says, " _Legilimens."_

She's inside a large study, lined with dark wood panels. There is a portrait of Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius on one wall and another family, who Ginny guesses may be Lucius's parents and him as a boy, on the other. At the end of the room is a white marble pedestal with a gold cup on it.

Ginny gasps to herself when she sees it. A part of her thought they'd never actually find it. Since she's joined the Horcrux Hunt, she hasn't ever seen a Horcrux. Like Draco said, it's surrounded by a magical box made of tiny, golden glowing strings. It's not a spell she's ever seen before.

Ginny looks around for Voldemort but doesn't see him. She realizes then that Draco is holding the memory still for her, so Voldemort must be just out of sight. That's also why she can't sense the emotions behind the memory as easily as normal. But if she tries hard, she knows she can pick them out. She searches for that hint of focus and clarity that she's learned to associate with Draco's mind.

When she finds it, it makes her feel cold, but not in a harsh way. It reminds her of brisk, winter days. Of snowball fights with her brothers, and the feeling of cool air on her face while she flies. She told Draco once that she had this same feeling every time she was in his mind, asking if there was something similar for him.

He confirmed there was a feeling he associated with being her mind, but wouldn't explain it to her. All he said was that it wasn't unpleasant. Now that she can feel Draco's presence, she tries to focus on the emotion behind this memory. She can sense some fear, anger, and more than anything, hatred. She recoils slightly at the intensity of the latter emotion and wonders who it's directed at.

She knows she should pull out. She's had more than a good enough look at the box. But being inside Draco's mind again is oddly comforting. It feels a little like coming home. She pulls herself out roughly as that last thought flits across her mind.

"Fuck, Ginny!" Draco is cradling his head in his hands while she stands quickly and backs away.

"Sorry, uh, I'm out of practice."

"Well, practice," he spits, "or we won't be doing that again anytime soon."

"Fine," she retorts. "I don't want to see your depraved mind again, anyway."

He looks at her like she's stupid and she looks away, embarrassed. She's losing control of this whole meeting. She needs to stop letting him get under her skin. She sits back in the chair across from him. "Tell me what you learned about the wards protecting the Manor."

He gives her one last sneer before answering her question. "I can get people in, but I won't use that method if you're planning a break-in. It would be too obvious that I helped."

"You're meant to help us. If you're not going to-"

"Let me finish," he snaps.

"Fine." She crosses her arms and sticks her tongue out at him.

"Very mature. Anyway, there's a way around the wards. I noticed it a few months ago. A way for you to get in and out without my help."

"What is it?"

"House elves."

He goes on to explain before she can ask him to elaborate. It's clear he wants this meeting to be over with and for once, they agree on something. He tells her how he noticed a few months ago that the other Death Eaters can call their house elves into the Manor, even though they don't have Dark Marks and aren't accompanied by a Malfoy. He had a suspicion that if he ordered an elf to bring someone into the Manor, they'd be able to apparate them in. He tried it with a random witch he'd found at the Leaky Cauldron one night, and it worked.

Before Ginny can make a snide remark about the "random witch" and ask if he'd meant to say "prostitute," Draco reaches into his pocket and takes out a hand-drawn map of Malfoy Manor. He shows her where he's marked his father's study with a star.

He trips on his words when he mentions his father, but she doesn't say anything. She doesn't want to talk to him about that.

"This is very helpful," she says, sincerely, looking down at the map. It is very thorough, but she didn't expect anything less from him. "Is there a guard, or is You-Know-Who always there, or-"

"I'm working on that part," he interrupts. "I'll have the details for you next week."

"Thank you." She forces the words out of her mouth, thinking of her conversation with Hermione the other night, but he looks disappointed and she wishes now she hadn't thanked him.

He is watching her like she's a predator about to attack him. He doesn't look scared, though, just, ready for the assault. "Why did you kill Fred?" she asks in a soft voice.

He is quiet and she thinks he won't answer, then he says, "It doesn't matter, anymore."

"It matters to me! He was my brother."

Draco looks away from her. "I know that. Is that all? I should be going."

She lets him leave. She has no more to say to him. After he goes, she searches the flat. Besides two changes of clothes neatly folded in the dresser, there are no personal effects. Nothing in the bathroom, nothing in any of the closets, no books on the shelves, and no food in the kitchen.

There is furniture, and even a TV, but when she turns it on there is only static. She smiles as she thinks how absurd it would look to see Draco watching a Muggle television.

Ginny's beginning to think he bought this place just for their meetings. When there's nothing else she can glean from the spartan flat, she apparates back to Grimmauld Place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh fun! Draco's in the story now. I know there have been complaints about Harry. I hear you, I haven't had a chance to develop him yet. I'm getting there, I promise! He's my favorite fictional character of all time, so I do intend to do him justice!
> 
> Continued thanks to my betas – Lancashire Witch and Kimmeh B. Come join me on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Thur, Mar-11.


	8. The Manor

**Chapter 8 - The Manor**

_September 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

When Ginny returned to Grimmauld Place after her meeting with Draco, she gathered the group in the sitting room and told them what Draco had said about using house elves to get into Malfoy Manor.

Harry called Dobby, remembering that he used to work at Malfoy Manor, and the small elf was eager to help them.

Dobby is currently talking to the group in the sitting room, explaining how bored all the Hogwarts house elves have been since the school was closed, almost a year ago. He tells them that they have been sneaking into the houses in Hogsmeade to clean them, while the owners are away, just for something to do.

"Dobby is honored to help Harry Potter, sir. Dobby can go to the Manor now, if you is wanting," Ginny can tell he is afraid of this idea, but Dobby seems willing to push past the fear to help Harry, who he appears to be obsessed with.

Harry shakes his head and explains that that won't be necessary. He also explains that it might be a while before they call on him to help, since they have to figure out how to get through Voldemort's enchanted gold box first.

Dobby's ears drop in disappointment. "Yes, very well. Is Harry Potter, or any of his friends, needing help with something else?" the elf asks hopefully. "I is good at cleaning and cooking, or other things. Anything for Harry Potter."

Dobby looks around the messy room pointedly, and Ginny can see Ron is about to agree, when he catches a glimpse of Hermione's stern glare. He rolls his eyes toward Ginny and she shoots him a small smile. Ginny knows Ron is thinking the same thing she is - that it would be nice to have a house elf, but that the lectures they'd have to endure from Hermione wouldn't be worth it.

Harry is chewing his lip, trying to decide between annoying Hermione, and helping his friend. He comes to a compromise and says Dobby can come over once a week to clean the house, make dinner, and help Hermione manage the Potions stores upstairs. He says they'll pay him a fair wage, looking to Hermione for approval.

Ginny smiles as Hermione nods at Harry, reluctantly. Harry is a good leader, since he's good at compromises like this. He was a good Quidditch Captain and after all this, he should get a job that puts him in charge of others. He has this rare quality that makes people want to listen to him and even follow him to the ends of the earth, which Ginny figures is what she, Hermione, and Ron are doing for him now.

They wish Dobby farewell and once he's gone, Harry settles back on the couch next to Ginny. He takes her hand and lifts it to his lips. "I know how hard it is for you to work with Malfoy, but it's only been a week and we already have a way into the Manor. Thank you, Ginny."

Ron and Hermione nod along from across the room. Ginny forces a smile onto her face. She feels completely spent after just thirty minutes with Draco, but if it helps end the war, it's a small price to pay.

"We still need to figure out the gold box," Ginny reminds them. She imagines the odd box in her mind, but tries to forget how she got this image, and how comforting it felt being back inside Draco's thoughts. How bad is it that she enjoys sharing her mind with a murderer?

"It'll be fine." Hermione says confidently.

"How are you so sure?" Ron asks her.

"Not only do we have two spies now in You-Know-Who's inner circle, but we also have our secret informant. They always seem to send Harry notes just when we need them. My guess is by the end of the week, we'll know how to get inside that box."

The boys tease Hermione for her excessive optimism, pointing out that it doesn't align with her commitment to all things practical and logical. But in the end, the boys are proven wrong.

Two days later, a letter for Harry arrives over breakfast. Ron jokes that maybe Hermione is the Seer everyone is talking about and Harry agrees, saying she certainly gives him more help than Trelawny ever has.

Harry looks around at them all excitedly, then slips open the seal of the note and holds it in the middle of the table so they can all read it.

_The cup is protected with blood magic. Only someone who shares the Dark Lord's blood can reach into the protective barrier and take the cup._

"Well that's the end of it," Ron says dejectedly, pushing back from the table. "The madman has no relatives. He killed them all. Fuck."

Harry doesn't look upset at all. He's smiling and looking down at his hands. "You're forgetting, Ron, that Tom doesn't have the same body he was born with. The body he has now doesn't have Tom Riddle's blood in it."

Hermione shrieks, but Ginny doesn't get it. She doesn't mind, she's used to this by now. Soon enough, Harry and Hermione will explain what's going on.

Ginny looks over at Ron and they share an exasperated look. "Whose blood is in his body?" Ginny asks stiffly, as if reading from a script.

Harry looks at her and beams widely. "Mine."

* * *

_September 1999 - Draco's Flat_

Ginny, Hermione, Harry, and Ron spent the next few weeks planning their break-in to Malfoy Manor. After finding out that Harry could get into the golden box, they had one final breakthrough during the next Order meeting. Kingsley informed them Voldemort would be out of the country in a few weeks, trying to recruit new followers.

Even Snape and Draco didn't know that. Snape told Hermione that Voldemort never liked to tell his followers when he would be far away, since he was constantly worried one of them would plan a coup while he was gone.

A week before Voldemort's trip, he pulled Draco and Bellatrix aside and said they needed to watch Lucius's study carefully for the next week since he'd received a tip that Harry Potter might try to break in. That seemed to be his way of ensuring they kept an eye on the cup, without telling them he would be out of town.

Ginny thought the story didn't make sense, since if Voldemort suspected Harry of breaking in, wouldn't he want to look out for Harry himself? When she asked Draco if he or Bellatrix had thought to bring up this argument, Draco had looked at her like she was stupid.

Ginny is at Draco's flat now, working out the final details for the Manor the next day.

"We have a house elf who can get us in and out. He'll apparate us right into the study at nine in the morning. We'll get the cup, then he'll take us away."

"You make it sound so easy," he drawls.

He's annoyed she didn't tell him how they are planning to get inside the gold box. Ginny explained it was too dangerous for him to know more than he has to, since it's just one more thing in his mind he has to shield, but she also likes keeping it from him because it irritates him so much.

"There's a possibility Bella has put an alarm in the room."

"What?"

"Do you want me to repeat the statement?"

"Shut up. What makes you think that? Can you remove it?"

Draco shakes his head. "She'll know it was me. She can't apparate inside the house like I can, so I'll make sure she's far away when you break in. You just need to go fast, that's all."

Ginny bites her lip and nods. "Okay, anything else?"

He gets up from the chair and walks across the room until he's standing across from her, at the window. "Yes, one more thing."

He is looking at her intently and she tries to focus on his pale eyes, but he's so close to her and all she wants to do is step back. But she knows if she does this, he'll just smirk. "What is it?" she asks, trying to keep her tone casual.

"I promised to do anything to help your side, within reason. If things go wrong, I won't be able to help you get out. Since I'm the last Malfoy, it will be too obvious that I was the one who helped. I gave you a way in and out of there, a map, and have agreed to distract my aunt. After that, you're on your own."

Ginny's eyes flash with anger. "So, say we're stranded for some reason and you're there with us. You won't apparate us out? You'll let us get captured and killed?"

He nods solemnly. "If it's between all of you getting killed or me, yes, I'll save myself."

Her face twists into a sneer. "I hate you."

He leans closer to her and whispers, "Yes, you've made that clear."

He takes a step back and she can tell he's about to leave. She asks the question she does at the end of all their meetings, not really expecting him to answer. "Why me? Out of all the people you could have chosen to torture with your presence. Why did it have to be me?"

Draco stops, surprisingly, and turns to face her. "I think I'll answer that tonight, since you're probably going to die tomorrow."

She resists the urge to slap him as he walks back over to her. She stays quiet, wondering if he's going to answer honestly. "When I saw you in Gringotts," he starts, his eyes unfocused and she guesses he's back in the tunnels under the bank. "It was the first time I'd felt alive in ages."

His eyes become focused again, then snap to meet hers and she almost steps back to escape the intensity of his gaze. "That's why," he finishes.

She looks back at him, incredulously. "You chose me because I make you feel alive? All I do is yell at you, insult you, and tell you how much I hate you."

He shrugs. "Anger, irritation, even hatred...they're better than nothing."

He leaves before she can come up with an adequate response.

* * *

_September 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

When Ginny gets back from her meeting with Draco, she sees Hermione pouring over the plans and the map of Malfoy Manor at the kitchen table. Ginny grabs her friend's shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze.

"You need to sleep, Hermione. We have a big day tomorrow and we've planned all we can."

Hermione ignores her. "What did Malfoy say? Anything new?"

Ginny considers telling her about the alarm, and how Draco won't help them if they get trapped tomorrow, but refrains. There's nothing to be done for it and it will just make Hermione worry more. Ginny shakes her head.

Hermione nods and turns back to the map. "Ok, good. I talked to Severus earlier and he's ready. He's going to decide to go to the Manor tomorrow to check the Lestranges with the spell and see if they recognize Lupin. So, he'll be there if we need him. Then Dobby is set to arrive-"

"I know, Hermione," Ginny cuts in. "We've been through this a thousand times. We've done all we can to prepare, and now it's time to rest."

Hermione nods but Ginny can tell she has no intention of turning in soon. Ginny goes upstairs and finds Harry in his room, sitting up on the bed, lost in thought.

"Hey," he smiles when he sees her in the doorway. "How was Malfoy? Anything new?"

Ginny nods, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He said Bellatrix set an alarm in the study. He can't disarm it without her finding out, but he'll make sure she's at the other end of the house when we arrive. As long as we go fast, we should be fine."

Harry frowns and she can tell he's considering if it's worth the risk. He nods. "I sort of expected something like that. At least we'll be ready for it."

Ginny decides not to tell him about Draco not helping them if they get trapped. She doesn't think it will change Harry's mind about the mission, anyway. He looks more determined than she's ever seen him.

Ginny sighs and goes to join him on the bed. "Hermione is downstairs trying to memorize that map of Malfoy Manor. I told her to sleep, but you know her. She's going to drive herself crazy trying to replan out the entire thing, only to find the original plan is perfectly fine."

Harry nods absently, then gets up from the bed. "I'm going to keep her company."

"What? It's time to sleep, Harry. It's bad enough that Hermione will be sleep deprived, but you shouldn't be tired tomorrow, too," Ginny pulls on Harry's arm.

He leans in and kisses her temple. "You sleep, I'll be up in a few hours. I promise."

He goes to the door and when he looks back at Ginny, she's still pouting. "Think about it, Ginny," he says, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. "This time tomorrow, we'll have the cup. And you can be the one to destroy it since you haven't had a chance to yet."

Ginny smiles, trying to hide her disappointment. She doesn't want to be alone right now, but for some reason, can't bring herself to say so. She knows Harry will wonder why and she doesn't want to have to explain that she's still shaken from her meeting with Draco.

When Harry leaves, Ginny lays back on the bed and rubs her eyes. She's exhausted. That's why she's not able to control her brain (that traitorous organ) as much as usual. It brings Draco's voice into her mind.

_When I saw you in Gringotts, it was the first time I'd felt alive in ages. Anger, irritation, even hatred...they're better than nothing._

A small voice in her head speaks before she gets a chance to silence it. _You know how he feels, don't you?_

* * *

_September 1999 - Malfoy Manor_

As soon as Dobby apparates the group into the study of Malfoy Manor, a shrill alarm goes off. Hermione sees Ron swear across from her but can't hear him over the sound. She disarms the alarm quickly, but she knows there is no way all the house's inhabitants haven't already heard it.

"Go, Harry!" Ginny hisses. "Get the cup, then we can leave." She pulls him toward the window, where a small gold cup is protected by a translucent gold box. Harry nods and runs with Ginny across the room, but they both dive behind a chair at the sound of the door opening.

Ron and Hermione crouch down and pull the invisibility cloak over them. Harry pulls Ginny against his chest and ducks behind the chair, and Dobby makes himself invisible. Hermione prays that whoever is on the other side of that door is alone. She's confident all four of them can take on just one wizard.

"Draco was supposed to keep Bellatrix busy," Ginny whispers. "We were supposed to have more time."

"Hush," Harry says to her as the door opens.

It's Rodolpho Lestrange. "Who is creeping around in here, trying to get the Dark Lord's cup?" he asks as he enters the large study. Hermione sees Harry move, but Ginny pulls him back and motions toward the entrance. Hermione turns to see Dobby reappear right in front of Lestrange.

"It was me, sir. I is cleaning in here, sir, then there was a loud scream. I is not knowing about the alarm, sir."

Hermione is holding her breath. Please let him listen to Dobby and leave them alone. Lestrange backhands Dobby and she clamps her mouth shut to keep from crying out.

"Get out you elf. No one is to set foot in here, not even a house elf."

"Yes sir!" Dobby disapprates with a loud crack. Lestrange gives the study one final look before leaving. They let out a collective sigh of relief, but it's short lived. They can all hear a female voice on the other side of the door. Bellatrix.

Harry and Ginny find a better hiding spot under the desk, but luckily, Bellatrix doesn't come inside. Once the voices outside the door fade away, Harry gets up from under the desk and offers Ginny his hand before helping her to her feet.

"Dobby?" he whispers. Dobby appears behind him and Harry gives him a hug. "That was brilliant, thank you!"

Harry turns toward the cup and runs to the pedestal but stops before reaching inside the box. He places a tentative finger inside the gold barrier and smiles back at them when it goes through fine.

He shoves his other hand into his pocket and grabs the copy of the cup Hermione created the night before for him to leave in place of the real cup.

But he never gets a chance to switch them. As soon as Harry grabs the real cup, the door bursts open.

"I knew it!" Bellatrix shrieks from the doorway. "Fancy seeing you here, Potter."

Harry dodges out of the way of the curse she fires at him. Dobby appears at Harry's side and wrenches the cup from his hand, then runs to the hall, holding the Horcrux above his head.

"Give me that cup, you elf!" Bellatrix cries as she runs out of the room, chasing after Dobby. She is met in the hall by her husband and Draco and orders them to follow her.

"We should detain Potter," Lestrange says as he runs after his wife. Draco follows behind, running half-heartedly.

"The cup, first," Bellatrix yells over her shoulder. Her shrill voice echoes along the hall. "If we let anything happen to that, the Dark Lord will kill us. They aren't going anywhere."

The next moment, they are alone in the study.

"Now what?" Ron asks. "We lost our way out, _and_ the cup."

Harry pulls a shining gold cup out of his pocket. "Dobby took the copy. So we have the cup, just no a way out."

"Well, that's something, I guess," Ron grumbles.

Hermione wishes she'd decided to bring the sword. Then they could at least destroy the cup before they all died. But she'd been afraid if she brought it and they were captured, they'd lose the sword. She's regretting her decision to leave it behind now.

"Dobby!" Harry calls a few times before giving it up.

"He must be busy," Hermione says.

Harry nods. "Let's hope he's still alive."

"Yeah," Ron adds. "He's our only way out of here."

"There has to be another way, let me think," Hermione says. She knows the wards work both ways, so even if they ran to the edge of the property, or attempted to fly out, they'd hit a barrier, eventually, and be forced to stay inside.

Kreacher's gone, so they don't have another house elf to call, and the Malfoy Manor ones won't answer to them. They should have secured a backup house elf. They never considered the possibility of being separated from Dobby.

Severus can't do anything to help, so it's not worth calling him, though she is slightly comforted by the fact that he's in the house somewhere. There's only one person who can help them. Hermione turns to Ginny.

"Do you have a way to call Malfoy? He's our only way out."

Ginny's face falls and she looks down at the floor. "He won't help."

"What?" Ron asks.

"Last night, he told me if we got stranded, he wouldn't help us get out. Since he's the last Malfoy and it would be too obvious that it was him. He said if it was between our lives and his, he'd choose to save himself."

"That fucking snake!" Ron yells while Hermione says, "You should have told us, Ginny. We could have planned for another way out or-"

"Keep your voices down," Harry snaps. Hermione can tell he's thinking quickly. She fingers the red pendant of her necklace, hoping she won't have to use it today.

"I'm with Hermione, Ginny. You should have told us what Malfoy said, but there's nothing to be done for it now. We're on our own and Dobby's our only way out. We need to find him, then get away from the others long enough to disapparate out."

Ginny looks contrite. "I'm sorry. I won't keep things from you all again. I thought-"

Harry places a comforting hand on her arm. "It's fine, Ginny. Really. I doubt it would have changed anything. We know Dobby can apparate with all of us at once, but in case we're separated, I'll give you the cup so-"

"No," Ginny says. "You keep the cup and soon as you get a chance, get Dobby to take you home and send him back for us."

Harry starts to shake his head and Ron grabs his shoulder and pulls him to the door. "Nice try, Ginny. Harry is too much of a martyr to go for that. Let's go, we're running out of time. Who knows how long we have until they call for reinforcements?"

When they get to the hall, Hermione takes the lead, since she was the one who memorized the map. She follows the sound of yelling to a ballroom at the other end of the estate. When she peers inside, she sees an almost comical sight.

Draco and Lestrange are on the side of the large ballroom, watching as Bellatrix throws spells at Dobby, who is hopping around, still brandishing the golden cup. Bellatrix keeps missing the house elf and hits the elegant pillars at the side of the room instead. Hermione is worried that if she hits the pillars too hard and they start to fall, the entire ceiling will come down.

She feels the others behind her and hears Ron snort, clearly stifling a laugh. "Do something you idiots!" Bellatrix yells at her husband and nephew. "If the Dark Lord finds out we let a house elf get his cup, we're all dead!"

"I've got an idea!" Lestrange waves his wand elaborately and to Hermione's horror, unleashes a stream of Fiendfyre. Draco rushes forward and vanishes the flames before they get a chance to multiply.

"Not in my house, you imbecile!" he spits at Lestrange.

"Well I suggest you do something, or I'll be telling the Dark Lord how unhelpful you were today."

Draco sighs, then glances over at the doorway and catches a glimpse of Hermione before she can jump out of sight. When she peers back in, she sees him nod his head imperceptibly toward the right side of the room.

"Malfoy's about to do something," she hisses to the group behind her.

"Yeah, I saw," Harry whispers back.

Draco lifts his wand and yells to Dobby while silently creating a silver web between two pillars several paces in front of the elf. Dobby turns his head toward Draco, distracted by his yell, and gets stuck in the web before he has a chance to see it.

Then, a lot of things happen at once. Harry starts to run into the room toward Dobby, but Ginny tackles him and goes ahead, shooting curses to distract Bellatrix. Hermione runs to the right while summoning the fake cup out of Dobby's hands, which draws Draco and Lestrange's attention to her. And Severus and Rookwood appear in the entrance at the other end of the ballroom.

Hermione sees Severus whisper something with his wand pointing toward Rookwood and sighs in relief. He'll handle Rookwood, so they can ignore that threat. Ginny is distracting Bellatrix, but is no match for the madwoman. Ron is already crossing the room to help her.

Harry is running toward Dobby, while trying to avoid the curses being thrown by Lestrange and Draco. Hermione notices that Draco's curses are not well aimed.

"The cup!" Bellatrix yells. "Get the girl!"

Severus and Rookwood are running toward Hermione and Lestrange shifts his focus to her too, while Draco and Harry continue dueling. As Rookwood approaches, Hermione sees he's been Confunded and stuns him easily. Severus hits her with a very weak stunning charm that she blocks effortlessly, then allows himself to be hit by a leg-binding curse.

When he falls, his wand "drops" out of his hand and Hermione kicks it away, sparing him a hint of a smile before turning to face Lestrange.

He comes at her with full force and she is almost hit by a killing curse. Her eyes widen in shock and adrenaline kicks in as she reminds herself that not everyone here is fake fighting.

She sees that Harry and Draco are near Dobby and Ron and Ginny are at the other end of the room, still fighting Bellatrix. She wishes Harry would just disapparate with Dobby and get himself out, but knows he'll stay until they're all safe. She needs to create a distraction to get them all back together.

She's trying to think as she dodges spells from Lestrange. Just then, a spell of Ginny's hits a pillar and it comes crashing down, nearly hitting Bellatrix. Hermione gets an idea.

Hermione throws the copy of the cup into the air, then hurtles it to the other end of the room, where no one is currently fighting, with a strong gust of wind. Lestrange stops shooting spells at her and watches the cup, then runs to get it. Hermione sends two blasting spells to the pillars on either end of where the cup landed and sure enough, they both come down, landing in a pile of rubble on top of the cup.

"We need to go, now!" she yells to her friends. She sees Draco fall backward, hit by some "invisible" curse and Harry takes the opportunity to yank Dobby out of the magical web.

Bellatrix, who had already been running toward the pile of rubble, stops when she hears Hermione's yell, and turns back. Her dark gaze focuses on Harry and Dobby.

"No you don't!" she shrieks, then reaches into a pocket and pulls out a knife. She throws it with deadly precision and for a horrifying moment Hermione thinks it's going to hit Harry. She sees the knife fly through the air, as if in slow motion, and there's nothing she can do to change its course, since no spell will reach it fast enough.

She lets out a soul-wrenching scream and runs toward Harry, and as she rushes for him, sure he's about to die, she's struck by one, terrifying truth: she loves him. Not just as a friend, like she's been fooling herself into thinking for years. She loves him more than anyone in her life, herself included, and he's going to die before she gets a chance to tell him.

Just before she gets to him, she hears the awful thud of the knife hitting flesh, but Harry doesn't fall over, or even flinch. Hermione reaches him in the next moment and throws herself into his arms.

"I'm fine," Harry mutters as he pulls away from her. They both look around and see quickly who Bellatrix's victim was. Dobby has a silver knife protruding from his back and there is a small line of blood coming out his mouth.

He's gone slack and drops the hand that was holding Harry's. Harry catches him and carefully lowers the elf to the ground.

Hermione looks up at Bellatrix, who is watching them with a triumphant gleam in her eye, then Hermione understands. Bellatrix has figured out Dobby was their only shot at escape and took it away, knowing with him gone, they'd have no way out of the Manor. She wouldn't have killed Harry, since surely Voldemort wants to do that himself.

Ron and Ginny are at their side now and Hermione looks around to see that Draco has joined Bellatrix and Lestrange in digging for the cup while Rookwood and Severus are still in the middle of the room. Severus gives her a knowing look and is cocking his head toward the entrance.

He's right, they need to take this chance to get out. As she looks down at Dobby, he's just muttered his last words, "Harry Potter," before the life leaves his large, green eyes. Hermione waits for Harry to gently close the elf's eyes before pulling on his arm.

She's about to tell them all they need to leave, when there is a rumble, and a large cracking sound. The ceiling is beginning to cave in. Ginny shrieks and they all run to the entrance, then Hermione remembers Severus. She left him with his legs frozen in the middle of the room and had kicked his wand out of his reach.

"Severus," she yells, but it's too loud with the sound of falling pillars. The room has filled with dust and she can't see anything, but she needs to help him. There is a strong arm around her middle and she's pulled into the hall.

"We can't help him, Hermione." It's Harry. "We need to go."

She nods as tears stream down her face. He's right. Severus is resourceful, he'll be fine. Though the words feel hollow as she thinks them.

"This way," Harry leads them to a room off the main hall and Hermione wonders absently how he knows where they are going. She was the one who memorized the map, but she's distracted. Dobby, their only way out, is dead, and now Severus might be dead too.

Harry stops outside a silver door and she hears him mutter to Ron, "He said the password is 'serpent.'"

At that word, the door clicks open and Ron grumbles, "Of course that's the password."

Harry has led them into a small sitting room that has sheets over all the furniture. He's walking around in circles while the others regard him warily, waiting for his next instruction.

Just then, the doorknob twists and everyone points their wand at the door, ready for another battle. But it's just Draco, and he's alone. Harry's earlier comment makes sense now. Draco must have told him to come here sometime during their fake duel. Maybe he's changed his mind about helping them escape.

"You have to help us, Draco!" Ginny rounds on him as soon as he closes the door behind him. "I know what you said, but I also know you want this war over. You have to see that getting us out of here is the best shot at that."

"Stop groveling, Ginny," he snaps at her. "I'm obviously going to help." Hermione wonders when they started calling each other by their first names. She can tell by Ron's expression he's wondering the same thing.

Draco begins shooting Reductor Curses around the room. Harry casts a shield charm in front of himself and Hermione while Ginny does the same for her and Ron. But it's clear Draco isn't aiming to hit any of them. After five or six blasts, he pockets his wand and turns to Harry.

"There's a secret passage through there," he points to a tunnel now visible behind a shelf he'd blasted a hole through. "It will take you to a room where the house elves sleep. There will be one there, waiting to take you all home."

Harry is nodding and moves toward the tunnel, but Draco isn't finished talking. "Wait, Potter. Two more things."

"What?" Harry asks, obviously eager to leave.

"You need to kill the elf."

"What? No!" Hermione exclaims.

Draco turns to her and sneers. "There's no time for your house elf rights movements, Granger. This is war, and this is the only way out that won't compromise my cover. Once my aunt tells the Dark Lord your other elf helped you in, he'll call all of mine and torture them for information. I can't have the one I ordered to take you home still alive when that happens."

"Why don't you just apparate us out right now?" Hermione asks.

Draco sighs. "My father always told me two things about blood magic: It's extremely powerful, but also traceable. I'm worried the Dark Lord will be able to tell if I apparated in and out of the wards during this skirmish."

"But you don't know for sure," Hermione points out. "Maybe you're just being overly paranoid." She knows this is hypocritical coming from her, but luckily none of her friends chime in to say so.

"You'd be paranoid too if you spent all your time with the Dark Lord," Draco retorts. "I'm not risking my life when there is a completely viable alternative. If you have another idea, say so now."

"He's right, Hermione," Harry says, placing a gentle hand on her arm. "We need to do this. It's the only way to get all of us out." She can tell the idea pains him, especially with Dobby's recent death. He turns back to Draco. "You said there was something else."

"You need to blast me, to account for all this," Draco motions around him. "It's not plausible that you'd manage to find a secret passage that leads you to the house elves on your own. The Dark Lord will suspect my involvement. But say I corner you, and there is a duel, and a tunnel leading to the house elves is revealed. I know it would require a lot of luck, but it wouldn't be the first time you've been so lucky. And I need to be injured, to make it more believable."

"So, that's what all the blasting was about," Ron mutters. "I thought he'd just gone mad."

Hermione is impressed. Draco has clearly thought of everything. He must have worked out this plan ahead of time. So when he'd told Ginny he wouldn't help them if they were trapped, he was lying. He had a backup plan the whole time. Ginny is glaring at Draco and Hermione suspects she's coming to this same conclusion.

Ginny steps toward Draco. "I'll blast you."

Draco doesn't even look back at her. "No. Potter will do it. And do it fast, you're running out of time."

Harry raises his wand and Draco cocks his head when he sees it. "Nice wand," he says flatly.

Harry smirks, "I'm not giving it back."

"Believe me, I don't want it." Hermione wonders if Draco knows it's tied to the Elder Wand. What else could he mean?

"Just my leg," Draco says. "If you hit me in the middle, you'll kill me."

"I've never seen a person hit with a Reductor Curse," Harry admits.

Draco shrugs. "It's not so bad if it hits a limb. It'll just shatter every bone, but they'll grow back." Hermione doesn't want to know how he knows that.

Harry sets his jaw and casts the spell. Draco cries out when it hits his shin and Hermione sees Ginny wince and look away. Harry runs to him and crouches down, looking at the bloody mess that he's turned Draco's leg into. "Shite, Malfoy! Did I hit anything important?"

"Just go, Potter! Fuck! The elf is waiting for you. I'm going to count to fifty before sounding the alarm. Got it?"

Harry nods and he looks serious now. He ushers them all through the tunnel and gives Draco a final look before running after them. They come out in a small, dark room lined with several tiny bunk beds. There is an old elf waiting in the middle of the room.

"Master Draco says to disapparte you somewhere," he says in a low, croaky voice.

"Yes, the girls first," Harry says. It's obvious he doesn't think this old elf can handle all four of them at once.

"No," Ginny and Hermione both try to protest, but Harry isn't having it.

"Just go with him," he says sternly.

Hermione directs the elf to Grimmauld Place. She would have chosen somewhere else, so as not to give away their location, but he's about to die and won't be able to tell their secret. Once home, Hermione and Ginny go inside the house, so there will be room on the doorstep for the boys to apparate.

"When did Draco give you the order to apparate us somewhere?" Ginny asks the house elf before he gets a chance to disapparate back to Malfoy Manor.

"Eight o-clock this morning, Miss. He told me to wait in my room for you," the elf responds before disappearing with a crack.

That was before the time they arrived at the Manor. So, Draco had planned an alternate way for them to escape from the start. "That bastard," Ginny mutters, but there are tears in her eyes and she looks more forlorn, than angry. Hermione wants to cry like Ginny, but will wait until they've taken care of the elf to break down.

They hear the boys outside and the next moment, they are carrying the elf into the house. Hermione thinks they've already killed him, but can still see the elf's chest rising and falling. He's only been stunned. Harry and Ron place him in the hall and they all down look at him, warily.

"How do we do it?" Ginny asks.

Hermione is about to speak when Ron pulls a dagger out of his sock. "I've got it."

"No," Hermione puts a hand on his arm and is taking off the necklace Severus gave her. "Let me."

She puts the pendant in the elf's mouth and closes his jaw tight until she hears a snap. She places her fingers on his pulse and feels it slow, then eventually, stop. She dips her head and a tear falls onto the elf's chest. "He's gone."

Harry crouches down next to her and takes the necklace out of the elf's mouth, then turns to her with a horrified expression on his face. "Is this the necklace Snape gave you?"

She nods, looking at the floor. Harry places a finger under her chin and tilts her face up. When she meets his gaze, his green eyes look furious. "Please, don't tell me he ever intended for you to use this on yourself."

Hermione nods again. "If I'm ever captured. It makes sense, since I know so much, and don't have any way to shield my mind. And I'm a Mudblood, and a witch, they wouldn't treat me well..." her voice trails off.

Harry's grip tightens on the necklace and he looks even angrier, which, previously, she didn't think possible.

"I'll kill him," Ron says behind her.

"You'll have to get in line," Harry says.

"He may already be dead," Hermione replies, finally breaking down. Harry pulls her into his chest as sobs overtake her. Then he picks her up and takes her into the sitting room and sits down with her on the couch. She can't get control of her crying, even though she knows, logically, they should be relieved, shouldn't they? Their mission was a success. But at what cost?

She thinks of Dobby with the knife in his back, Severus getting crushed by the falling ceiling without a wand to protect himself, Draco's bloodied leg, and the dead elf in the hall, and she can't make herself stop crying. But the worst moment out of all of them, was that split-second when she was sure Harry was dead. That memory, she knows, will haunt her more than any of the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This story is my first real foray into action writing. It's certainly different from what I'm used to, but I'm enjoying it and hopefully you all are too. Thanks as always to my beta, Lancashire Witch. You can find me on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Sat, Mar-13.


	9. The Truth

**Chapter 9 - The Truth**

* * *

_September 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

It has been several days since their escape from Malfoy Manor, and Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Ron are planning a party. It was Ron's idea that they do something to snap them out of their melancholy and he pulled Hermione aside and asked if she'd be okay with him inviting a few of their friends over.

She agreed almost instantly, desperate for something to distract everyone from thoughts of dead house elves, Harry blasting Malfoy's leg into a mangled mess, and the fact that Hermione still hadn't received word from Severus. At least Ginny had received confirmation that Draco was alive through the chess piece they used to communicate.

"I'm sure Snape is fine. He's a survivor," Harry keeps reassuring Hermione, but she can tell he doesn't care either way. He's still angry with Severus for giving Hermione the poison necklace.

Hermione has just finished making a large roast for their dinner party when her necklace burns hot. She nearly drops the pan she's holding in surprise. One burn means danger and two burns means they need to meet.

Hermione places the pan on the counter, then stops in place, waiting for the necklace to burn again. The necklace burns a second time and Hermione pulls her apron off so quickly, it nearly tears.

"Snape?" Ginny asks. She'd been frosting a lopsided cake at the kitchen table but stopped to peer at Hermione when she saw her jump.

Hermione is already in the doorway. "Yes. I need to go. I'll be back soon, hopefully not long after everyone arrives."

Ginny nods solemnly and looks back at the cake. Hermione suspects she's thinking of Malfoy, and figures he's the reason Ginny's been so distracted the past few days.

Ron admitted to Hermione that he's been having trouble reconciling the Draco Malfoy who risked his life to help them, with the one who killed his brother. Hermione guesses it's even worse for Ginny, who has some sort of history with Malfoy.

When Hermione reaches the doorstep, she apparates straight into the sitting room at Severus's house in Spinner's End.

Severus is by the window, peering out of the faded curtains. He turns at the sound of her apparition.

She is so relieved to see him alive and in one piece, that she crosses the room and hugs him, before thinking twice. He stiffens in her arms, but she doesn't care. She's sure he's annoyed, but is just glad he's here, and alive, and still capable of being irritated by unwanted hugs.

"Get a hold of yourself, Granger." He says, in a cold voice. She steps back, alarmed at his use of her surname. She can't remember the last time he called her that. This is more than irritation at the hug. He's angry with her.

"I'm sorry," she says reflexively, though she's not quite sure for what. When she steps back far enough to where she can see his face, she confirms he's angry. His eyes are glinting with barely suppressed rage and she's reminded of how he was at school, and the way he used to regard Harry.

"I shouldn't have left you in that ballroom," she starts in a rush, "especially without your wand."

He waves her off. "That was nothing. As soon as I heard the ceiling begin to fall, I summoned my wand and threw up a shield charm. I didn't get injured in that crash. Rookwood wasn't as lucky. He's dead, which is just as well, since the Dark Lord didn't get a chance to look through his mind and find out I'd Confunded him."

Hermione nods. If that's not why he's angry, then she can't figure out why else. "How angry was You-Know-Who?" she asks, carefully. Maybe he's in a sour mood after a particularly bad round of torture.

Severus looks away from her before answering. "Angrier than I've ever seen him." His voice is completely devoid of emotion.

"Are you okay, Severus?"

His eyes flash back to meet hers and he still looks just as indignant as before. He doesn't need to answer her question, she can read the response on his face.

"No," she answers for him. "You're clearly angry. Just tell me why."

He regards her for several moments before speaking. His voice is low, barely above a whisper, and she's reminded again of school and how he would speak when he was especially upset with the class. "How did you escape from the Manor? Bellatrix killed your only way out."

She looks away from him but realizes too quickly that she always does that before lying to him. He'll know she's not telling the truth, but she goes along with the lie anyway. "During a duel with Draco, we found a tunnel that led to a room where the house elves sleep. We encountered one there and forced him to take us back home. Then, we killed him so he couldn't give away our location."

"You found this tunnel all on your own?"

Hermione nods.

"And how did you force this house elf to help you?"

"We threatened to kill him."

"You...and Potter," his voice is laced with skepticism.

Hermione looks down at the floor and is glad she's not the one, out of the two of them, who has to lie everyday to stay alive. "How does You-Know-Who think we escaped?" she asks.

Severus is silent for a long time before answering. "He believes this insane story you just told me. But he doesn't really understand how house elf magic works. Nor does he know that Potter and you wouldn't harm a flobberworm."

"Harry severely injured Draco. And we did kill the elf," she says defensively.

"Yes, I believe you. But I don't believe that's an idea you came up with on your own. Draco helped you, didn't he?"

Hermione looks back into his dark eyes, then nods once in confirmation. Severus sighs and starts pacing the room. "You reached out to him after I told you not to. As soon as I saw him dueling Potter in that ballroom, I knew there was something off."

"Does anyone else suspect?"

He stops pacing and glares at her. "No. Thankfully. Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know I can't give you any more information than you need."

"I believe knowing who the other spies are in the Dark Lord's inner circle is relevant. And how did you convince him to help?"

Hermione is quiet. It's already too much for him to know Draco is a spy. She doesn't want to tell him Ginny is his handler. And honestly, she doesn't really know the story there, anyway.

Severus steps closer to her and when she looks back up at him, she finds him glaring at her angrily again. "Tell me, Hermione," he says when she doesn't answer his question. His voice is dripping with disdain. "Did you persuade Draco to help you in the same way you persuaded Adrian Pucey? Are you the Order's whore now, too?"

Hermione raises her hand to slap him, but he grabs her wrist and pulls her hand away from him.

"How did you find out?" she asks, glaring at him with as much fury as he's glaring at her.

"I was ordered to go to all the Dark Lord's followers and search their minds for images of Lupin. I was in Pucey's head for less than two minutes when I saw you in there."

She pulls her hand out of his and looks away, a warm blush creeping up her neck. Did he see images of them having sex while he was in there? The thought makes her sick.

"Don't worry, I pulled out before I saw anything unseemly."

"How kind of you," she snaps back at him. She can't remember a time she's ever been this embarrassed. Having her friends find out about Adrian was one thing. But Severus...and the way he found out…

Hermione crosses her arms and feels angry tears come into her eyes. She looks away from him so he won't see. When Severus speaks again, his voice is softer.

"Did Kingsley order you to sleep with that boy as a way to take advantage of his grief over his dead fiancée?" She's impressed by how much Severus has managed to learn about Adrian after just a few minutes in his mind. Did he really not see anything else? Or is he just saying that?

"No, Severus," Hermione looks down and a few tears fall onto the rug. "I did that on my own."

"Why?"

She has no idea what to say. _Because I'm desperately lonely and the one person I love most in this world is dating someone else. Because I'm pathetic. Because I liked doing the wrong thing for some twisted reason._

When she looks back up at him, he's regarding her with pity and she guesses some of the truth has appeared on her face. She rushes to change the subject. "It's different with Draco. I did reach out to him to help us, but I'm not his handler. And I haven't done...you know…" she lets her voice trail off.

"Why did Draco agree to help?" Severus seems just as eager to change the subject as she does now, seemingly satisfied that she's not being whored out by the Order.

"I have no idea. He had something he needed from Kingsley, but none of us know what it is." She's relieved to finally be able to answer honestly.

Severus nods and looks back toward the window, thinking hard. She wonders if he has any idea what Draco may have needed.

"Is he okay?" Hermione asks, remembering the state they'd left Draco in. She'd read up on how to heal an injury like his when they'd returned home, and it wasn't as simple as he'd made it sound. Growing back bones wasn't very hard, but first all the broken bones would have to be removed, and that was incredibly difficult when they'd been shattered.

"He was punished worse than I was," Severus says. "But he'll be fine. He's young, and resilient, and apparently bolder than I thought," he adds with an appreciative nod.

Hermione nods along as she remembers how confident and self-assured he'd been when he was laying out their escape route. She didn't see any of the bratty boy she knew from school. Voldemort seemed to have beaten that out of him.

Draco's voice comes to her mind. _I killed my father just hours ago at the Dark Lord's request. You believe I can turn back from that?_

"He killed Lucius," Hermione says softly.

Severus nods sadly. "Yes, the Dark Lord told us at the last meeting. Lucius was bungling his task to find the owner of the Elder Wand, after all. It was because Draco was the owner at some point, and he was trying to protect his son."

"And as a punishment, You-Know-Who had his son kill him," Hermione finishes for him. Her stomach turns at the thought and she's glad they are only one Horcrux away from destroying that madman for good.

As she thinks of Horcruxes, she remembers the party she's missing. She's supposed to be with Harry and her friends, celebrating the destruction of another Horcrux. Not here, in this sad house with an angry Death Eater. She knows the thought isn't fair, especially for Severus, who doesn't get to go to parties, but she suddenly wants to be far away from here. She wraps her arms around herself.

"I should leave you alone, Severus. I'm glad you're alright. I was beside myself with worry the past few days, convinced you were dead. Oh, and I need a replacement for the pendant on my necklace," she holds it out to show him the empty setting. "I used the poison to kill the elf."

"Very well, I'll make another this week and fix that for you the next time we meet."

Hermione knows the boys will be livid when they see it, but that's a fight for another time. She turns to leave, but Severus grabs her arm, keeping her from disapparting. "I have one more thing, before you go."

She cocks her head and nods for him to continue. He hesitates and looks nervous, and she can't remember a time she's ever seen him look like this.

"Like I said," he continues, dropping his hand from her arm, "I wasn't in any danger when the ceiling collapsed in the ballroom, but it did occur to me that if I died, there's a piece of information only I have, that is crucial for winning the war. Something Dumbledore told me before he died."

"What?" Hermione asks, all thoughts of the party gone now. Finally, a missing piece to the complicated puzzle Dumbledore left for Harry.

Hermione looks up at him and his eyes are sad, and she knows that whatever he has to say must be very bad to cause him to show this much emotion. But it doesn't stop her from leaning in, eager to hear his next words.

"After the Dark Lord's snake, there is one final part of his soul that will need to be destroyed."

"No. He only made six Horcruxes, so he could split his soul into seven," Hermione argues. "It's a magical number and-"

"He doesn't know he made this one," Severus says quickly, interrupting her. "It's not technically a Horcrux."

He looks down before continuing. "When the Dark Lord went to kill…" he stops to take a breath.

"When he went to kill the Potters, he'd already split his soul so badly that it was unstable. When that killing curse rebounded, a piece of the Dark Lord's soul split off and attached itself to the only other living thing around."

Hermione is confused at first, then the truth hits her like a pile of bludgers. She slowly backs away from Severus, but he keeps talking anyway. "It's why he can talk to snakes, and was almost sorted into Slytherin. It's why he can see the Dark Lord's mind, so easily."

Tears are streaming down Hermione's face and she stops walking backward when her legs hit a chair. She lowers herself into it and drops her face in her hands.

"As long as Potter lives, the Dark Lord can't truly be destroyed. And, according to Dumbledore, it has to be the Dark Lord who kills him."

Hermione is taking deep, shaky breaths to keep from sobbing and wraps her arms tightly around herself. She can feel her mind slipping, trying to take her away to romantic moments with Harry, but she forces it to stay here. She tenses all her muscles, painfully, to keep herself in the present.

Harry's going to die. That's how this whole war will end. The prophecy that started all this comes to her mind. _Neither can live while the other survives._

That made it sound like there was hope. Like Harry could defeat Voldemort, then go on to live the normal life he's desperately wanted for years. The happy life he deserves more than anyone. But that wasn't going to happen. When Trelawny gave that prophecy, she should have been clearer. She should have said: _Neither will live, neither will survive._

Hermione glares up at Severus. "What was it all for?" Her voice is surprisingly calm as anger begins to replace her sadness. "Dumbledore was teaching Harry all about You-Know-Who and Horcruxes, but knew the whole time that Harry wasn't going to make it?!"

Severus nods. "I know exactly how you feel. I believe I used the phrase 'raising a pig for slaughter' when Dumbledore told me."

"But what about the Hallows? Harry is the Master of Death. He controls the Elder Wand and has the other objects, too."

"What?"

Hermione's speaking frantically now. "Did Dumbledore tell you about those? He must have. An invisibility cloak, the resurrection stone, and the wand. Whoever possesses them all can defy death. Maybe Harry can- I don't know- cheat death again. Maybe that's why Dumbledore gave me that book about the Hallows."

"He didn't say anything about that to me," Severus says gently. He's giving her a pitying look again. "I didn't know Potter had control of the wand until just now. I'm not sure that was something Dumbledore planned."

"He planned for you to get control when you killed him, and then maybe he wanted you to pass it on to Harry. There has to be a way around this. Dumbledore loved Harry."

Severus shakes his head and she knows she sounds crazy, but she's desperate for there to be another way. A way to kill the piece of Voldemort in Harry without having to kill Harry. But even as she thinks it, she knows it's ridiculous. She drops her eyes and tries to get control of herself.

"I shouldn't have told you about Harry and the wand, Severus. I'm sorry. It's very important You-Know-Who doesn't find out. It's just -" she cuts off, her mind is still racing. "If You-Know-Who is supposed to be the one to kill Harry, I'm not sure how he's supposed to do it if Harry has control of his wand."

Severus is looking off at the bookshelf, thinking, then he turns to her. "If Potter walks to the Dark Lord willingly, and doesn't put up a fight, the wand should work against him."

"But that means…" Hermione can't even say the words. She thinks of the final battle between Harry and Voldemort, where she always pictured Harry ultimately defeating the dark wizard. The image had become sharper since they learned Harry had control of Voldemort's wand. But it wouldn't go like that.

Harry would walk to Voldemort and give himself over willingly. And that meant he would know about it ahead of time. Which also meant someone would have to tell him.

As if reading her mind, Severus says solemnly, "Yes, at some point, you'll have to tell Potter. You'll know the right time."

Hermione can no longer hold back her tears and they start to stream down her face. Not only does Harry have to die, but she has to be the one to tell him. It will have to be after they kill the snake, right when he thinks they are close to the end. She shuts off that line of thinking. This is just like her, worrying about logistics when there are much bigger problems.

"I can't, Severus," she whispers. "I can't be the one," she adds louder, finding her voice. She gets up and starts pacing the room. "You can tell him, I'll arrange a meeting and you can tell Harry about Dumbledore, and what you told me about the night his parents died, and-"

"You love him," Severus says simply, cutting off her rant.

She stops pacing and turns to face him. "Of course I love him, he's my best friend. I grew up with him. And I know you don't like him, but he's a wonderful person."

Severus steps toward Hermione and when he reaches her, he gently grabs her chin and looks intently into her eyes. There are still tears falling down her face. "It's more than that," he says definitively, and she thinks to herself that Severus would know. Isn't he the expert on unrequited love? _He's with Ginny,_ Hermione reminds herself for the thousandth time.

"Was I wrong to tell you? I was sure you were strong enough to handle it." He drops her chin and the look in his eyes is one of such unfathomable sadness, that she is sure he is seeing a bit of himself in her right now.

She lifts her chin and swallows back the rest of her tears. "You weren't wrong. It was a shock. That's all. I'll be fine." She takes several breaths as she works on identifying and pushing back each of the emotions that are threatening to overtake her.

Anger at Dumbledore. She finds that one boiling in her chest and pushes it away.

Pain at the thought of having to be the one to tell Harry he's going to die. That emotion is in her gut and she finds it, then dulls it.

Despair and loneliness as she pictures a world without Harry. Those emotions are sitting in her heart, lighting it on fire, and she tries to quell the flames.

She finds the rest: desperation, heartbreak, helplessness, and pushes them away until she's made herself as numb as possible. When she looks back at Severus, the tears are no longer falling, and she is sure her eyes are as blank and he typically makes his.

Now, however, his eyes are unusually sympathetic as he watches her. "I'm sorry to burden you with this knowledge. I didn't realize how you felt about him. But you understand, I can't be the only one who knows."

She nods and wipes the remnants of tears from her face with the back of her sleeve. Severus is still watching her, but his eyes are no longer sad. He's hidden his emotions, too.

"Is the truth written across my face?" she asks, keeping her voice as flat as possible. She can't let this show when she returns to the party.

"No, you've done well." He says it like a professor who's disgusted with the material he was forced to teach.

She's about to leave when he calls her back. She stops in place and dread flows through her. There can't be more, can there? She doesn't think she'll be able to handle any more. "Hermione."

"Yes?" She turns to him and waits for him to continue with whatever terrible news he needs to add.

"Pucey's dangerous. His mind is unstable and all his thoughts of you were laced with a hint of-" he cuts off, as if trying to find the right words. "-obsessive madness."

Hermione looks away from him, focusing down on the floor. "I can't imagine his information is very good but if the Order needs him, they need to find him another handler. It's important you stay safe."

"I understand, and you're right. I'll talk to Kingsley when I see him next. Thank you, Severus." She leaves before he can say anything else.

* * *

Ginny is leaning against a bookshelf on the side of the sitting room, looking at all the people crowded into the room. It's surreal having others here after being alone with the same three people for over a year.

It's going to mean a lot of Obliviations later, but even Hermione said it was worth it and agreed to help when it was time to send everyone home. They'd all been so depressed after the Manor and when Ron had suggested a party, everyone immediately agreed. It had to be at Grimmauld Place, since it was too dangerous for their group to go anywhere else, but even that was good, since preparing for the event provided another means of distraction.

Ginny notices George watching her from a chair a few feet away, and grins at him. He's got his arms wrapped around Angelina, who is sitting on his lap right now, talking to Lavender. George is treating Angelina like a life line and hasn't let go of her since they arrived. But Angelina doesn't seem to mind, and they are good together. Ginny's glad he's found a bit of comfort for himself, during these dark times.

She's spent most of the night avoiding him so far, since she knows talking to him will just remind her of Fred. She wonders if George has noticed. He winks at her, then focuses back on the conversation between Angelina and Lavender.

Ron has his arm draped around Lavender and seems thrilled to have her here. Ginny and Harry were talking earlier and wondering if the party was just a big ruse for Ron to invite Lavender over again. He likes her, but he's embarrassed about it since Ginny and Hermione always tease him about his disastrous relationship with Lavender at Hogwarts.

But Lavender has matured in the last year. Fighting in battles and watching your friends die will do that to you. Ginny will talk to Ron later. If he likes Lavender, he should tell her and stop trying to hide it.

Neville is on the end of the couch talking to Ron. Neville is one of Ginny's favorite people and she can't help but smile every time she sees him. According to the others, he's become one of the Order's fiercest fighters and after seeing him at Hogwarts, she isn't surprised.

It came out over dinner tonight that she and Neville had fake-dated at Hogwarts. Ginny hadn't told the group that it was Draco who had originally suggested she get another boyfriend, since being known as Harry Potter's girlfriend put her in a potentially dangerous position.

Everyone had a big laugh about it, but now Neville is dating Hannah Abbott, who has been training to be a Healer with Madam Pomphrey. Neville told them in a sullen tone that there have been no shortage of injuries for her to practice on.

The final two party guests are Dean and Seamus, who are currently sequestered away in a dark corner of the room, stealing kisses. It's simultaneously weird and fitting, seeing them together. Ginny can't believe she used to date Dean. That seems so long ago now. All that time from Hogwarts before the war feels like a half-remembered dream.

Ginny wishes she were snogging someone in the corner of the room right now, but her boyfriend is missing. Well, technically, he's not missing since she knows where he is. He's upstairs with Hermione. When Hermione returned from her meeting with Snape, she rushed past the kitchen where everyone was eating dinner and went straight upstairs. She didn't even stop to say hello to their guests. Harry ran after her and they've been gone for over an hour.

Ron used to always be the one to comfort Hermione. After they broke up last year, Ginny took over the task. Now it's Harry. Ginny wonders when it changed.

Ginny takes the chance while no one's talking to her to duck out into the hall. She considers going to check on Harry and Hermione but changes her mind. She doesn't want to know whatever has Hermione so upset. Not tonight, at least.

Instead, she goes outside for some fresh air. Ginny has enjoyed the company tonight and it's been a nice distraction, but all the talking is exhausting, especially since she's not used to it.

She dries a space on the grass with her wand, then lays down, propping her head on her arm. She takes out the chess piece in her pocket, but there's still no change. It has the same message Draco sent her a few days ago.

She sighs and returns the small queen to her pocket as she recalls the past few days. Right after Hermione killed Draco's house elf, she broke down and Harry carried her into the sitting room while Ron went to the backyard to bury the elf. Ginny disappeared into her bedroom and pulled out the chess piece.

She stared at it for ages, trying to figure out what to say. Draco had saved them. He may have murdered her brother, but it didn't change the fact that when they were stranded, and needed him, he'd risked his life (and leg) to help them. Ultimately, she'd settled on: _Is your leg okay?_

It was a few hours before Draco responded. While she waited, she busied herself with a shower, then went to check on Ron. He'd finished burying the elf, which was evident by a small mound of dirt in the yard, and she found him in the sitting room with Harry and Hermione.

When Ginny entered the room, they smiled at her and pointed toward the cup. They'd been waiting for her to destroy it. She picked the cup up and studied it. It felt eerily familiar and seemed to have a pulse. She was reminded in that moment that she'd shared a soul with Voldemort for a short time.

When she hit the cup with the sword, it bled black. Gross. After that, Ginny played a game of chess with Ron in an effort to take her mind off of Draco. Unfortunately, it just made her think of him more. In the middle of the game, the chess piece burned and she excused herself to go check it. It was nice not having to lie to Harry and Ron, since they knew about Draco and how she used the chess piece to communicate with him.

Draco had responded with: _Do you care?_

Ginny sighed and tapped her wand to the top of the tiny queen. _Of course, we owe you our lives._

 _I know,_ he replied.

 _Bastard,_ she thought to herself. Then she sent: _Why did you lie about helping us?_

He was quiet again and after a full thirty minutes, when it was clear he wasn't going to respond, Ginny returned to the sitting room, and to her chess game with Ron. "Is the ferret going to live?" Ron asked after she sat down.

"It appears so."

"Probably too soon to say," Hermione chimed in, then looked guilty when she saw the look on Ginny's face.

"What?"

"You-Know-Who is still out of town. When he gets back, he's going to punish everyone for losing Harry and the cup," Hermione explained carefully.

Ginny was horrified and Harry and Ron noticed. She saw them share a look and she tried to get her emotions under control.

"He won't kill Draco," Hermione said comfortingly. "He's the last Malfoy. Not only would it look bad to his followers, but he probably needs him to maintain all the wards protecting Malfoy Manor. Though, I guess that matters less now than it used to, with the cup gone," she added in an undertone.

"You are the worst at cheering people up," Harry teased her, then turned to Ginny. "I don't want that git to die, either, Ginny. Enough people have died for us. He's going to be fine," he added, kindly.

Later that night, the chess piece burned while Ginny was sleeping. She turned to her side, away from Harry, and read the black letters by the light of the moon coming in through the window.

_You're awful at saying 'thank you.'_

She smiled to herself. If Harry wasn't sleeping right behind her just then, she'd have thought she was back in her dorm at Hogwarts, talking to Draco with the chess piece for hours, when they should have both been sleeping.

 _Thank you,_ she responded.

She waited long enough to ensure he'd seen the message, then asked, _Did he punish you? Are you okay?_

His response was quick. _Stop pretending to care._

Then, before Ginny had a chance to reply, he sent: _This is too dangerous. I'll contact you when it's safe to meet._

Ginny pulls the chess piece out of her pocket again and looks at it as she lies under the dark, cloudy sky. She has no idea what to think about Draco. She's been struggling for the past few days to reconcile all the versions of him she knows.

The caring friend she'd had at Hogwarts, who seemed more scared than anything else. The cold fighter she'd encountered a few days ago, who ordered them around with fierce precision, then stepped back and barely cried out, when Harry shattered his leg to pieces.

The loyal Death Eater who had killed his own father at Voldemort's command. And the wizard who had murdered Fred when he didn't have to.

That day in the Great Hall, one of the other Death Eaters had hit a pillar with something and it started to fall. Instead of letting it drop in place, where it would have hurt no one, Draco had moved it toward Fred. Why? How was it possible that all these Dracos were the same person?

Ginny jumps at the sound of the back door closing and pulls herself into a sitting position. She sees Lavender on the back porch. Ginny doesn't even try to force a smile on her face as Lavender comes to sit next to her on the grass. She puts the chess piece back in her pocket and looks over toward the house elf's grave.

"Are you okay?" Lavender asks.

"No."

"It must be strange seeing so many people, after spending most of your time alone."

"It is." Ginny knows she's being cold, but she wants to be alone right now and hopes if she doesn't talk too much, Lavender will leave.

"And seeing your brother, without Fred," Lavender adds.

Ginny pulls her legs up and wraps her arms around them while tears sting her eyes. "Yes. It's hard."

Lavender nods and Ginny turns to look at her. Her eyes are sad and Ginny wonders how many awful scenes those eyes have witnessed. Ginny was a wreck after the Manor, but that was just one battle, and the only casualties were a few house elves. She knows it is much worse for the others. "You're more perceptive than I remembered," Ginny tells her.

Lavender lets out a small laugh. "Not really, I just listen to your brother when he talks. I know that day, watching Fred die, still haunts him. It's one of his most common nightmares."

"But...Ron wasn't there when he died. He didn't come until later…" Ginny brings up an image of that fight again. She never thinks about it, so the details are blurry. She remembers Fred and George dueling the Carrows, Crabbe, and Goyle. And she was on the other side of the room with Draco. Ron wasn't in the room. He didn't appear until after Fred had died.

"Yes, he was there, under the invisibility cloak," Lavender continues. "That's probably why you didn't see him."

Ginny nods, thinking, then gets up quickly, suddenly ready to go back inside. "Are you feeling better?" Lavender asks.

"Yes, thank you." She rushes back into the house and notices Harry and Hermione are back. _That's good,_ she thinks absently, but she's looking for Ron. She finds him laughing with Dean on the other side of the room. She goes to him and pulls him into the hall, realizing belatedly that she hadn't even bothered to make up some excuse for Dean.

Ron's confused, and drunk, she notices quickly. "I need to talk to you," she says in a rush.

"Yeah, I gathered that," he slurs. "Go on."

"The day Fred died," she starts.

"Fuck, Ginny," that seemed to sober him up a bit. "You refuse to talk about that day since it happened, but choose _now_ to change your mind?"

"Just one quick question."

"It better be really quick," he mutters.

"Where were you?"

"What?"

She sighs and repeats her question. "When that pillar fell on him, where were you?"

Ron groans, then lifts his hand and rubs his face.

"I know it's hard to think about, just tell me," Ginny urges.

"I was a few feet away from you, right next to that pillar that fell, under Harry's cloak. If Malfoy hadn't decided to kill Fred that day, it would have hit me. So, while I hate the git, a part of me is sort of relieved he did it. How fucked up is that?"

Ginny places a comforting hand on his arm while her mind reels. "I don't want to talk about this, anymore," Ron says sharply, then turns to leave.

Ginny tightens her grip on him. "Wait. Just show me the memory. Then, I won't ask about it ever again."

He looks at her incredulously. "What is wrong with you? You've shut me down every time I've tried to bring that day up, and now you want to watch my memory? What's going on?"

"Just pull it to the top of your mind. Please."

He bites his lip, then nods once and she enters his mind before he can protest further. She's watching the familiar scene in the Great Hall from Ron's point of view. Ginny and Draco are battling to his left and Ginny's back is to him. Fred and George are on Ron's other side, fending off both Carrows, Crabbe, and Goyle. Ron is throwing curses toward their opponents every so often, to even the fight a bit.

One of Ron's spells hits Goyle in the arm and Goyle cries out in alarm, then shoots something back toward his invisible attacker. Ron jumps out of the way, but when he does so, his foot slips out from under the cloak. Ginny focuses on Draco and sees his eyes widen in shock. He saw Ron.

The spell Goyle had sent hits the pillar next to Ron and it starts to fall, but Ron hasn't noticed yet, he's been rearranging the cloak to cover his feet again. Draco lifts his wand and moves the falling pieces of the pillar away from Ron.

Ginny jumps out of Ron's mind before she sees Fred get crushed. She's breathing hard when she reappears in the hall at Grimmauld Place and Ron is glaring at her. He runs off and avoids her for the rest of the night, probably worried she'll insist on making him relive that scene again. But she's already seen enough.

She spends the remainder of the party with George, getting updates on their family, but she's only half-listening. Her mind is on what she'd seen in Ron's mind. Draco knew he was there. Is that why he'd moved the pillar? Is that what his message to her had meant? _Some pieces are more important than others._

Did he think Ron was more important to them winning the war than Fred? Maybe because he was important to Harry? Ginny and Draco had always joked about the war being a giant chess game with Harry and Voldemort being the kings. They'd talked about what pieces that made them. Whether they were pawns, or something more exciting, like bishops, or rooks.

Is that what Draco had been doing that day? Trading a pawn for a bishop? Did that make what he'd done any better? Perhaps she was grasping at straws, desperate for a reason to forgive Draco.

The truth hits her later that night, just as she's drifting off to sleep. She bolts up in bed. She'd been thinking about it all wrong. She'd been thinking from Ron's point of view. But if she considered Draco, and his perspective, all he'd seen was a trainer appear from under an invisibility cloak. Once he saw that, he would have immediately thought of one person. Harry.

They'd known he was at the castle that night. That was why the Carrows had taken Ginny to the dungeon in the first place, hoping to draw him out so they could capture Harry and deliver him to Voldemort.

When Draco moved that pillar, he wasn't trying to kill Fred. Nor was he trying to trade a pawn's life to save a bishop or rook. He was trying to save the king.

* * *

When Hermione returns from Spinner's End, she goes straight to her bedroom, ignoring the sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen. She needs to collect herself before going to join her friends.

When she gets to her room, she stops in front of the dresser, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She looks like she's aged five years. She feels like it, too. But her eyes are dead. That's good, she needs to hide the terrible knowledge she learned from Severus.

The door clicks open and Hermione sees it's Harry in the mirror. Her heart jolts, then fear grips her. She can't see him right now.

"Are you okay?" he asks from the doorway.

Hermione looks away from the mirror and focuses on her hands, which she's laid flat on the surface of the dresser. She needs to get control of herself before talking to him.

"Is it Snape? Is he okay?"

Hermione nods.

"Then what's wrong?"

She pushes her fingers tips hard into the dresser until the tension in her hands hurts, eager for something to distract her from her thoughts, and from Harry, and from his inevitable death.

She feels gentle hands on her arms and when she looks up, she sees Harry watching her in the mirror, his green eyes are sympathetic. She turns to face him and swallows back the rush of emotions that seeing him has brought forth. "He was badly tortured and was in a sour mood. I hate the thought of him being punished for helping us, that's all. Let's go to the party."

She turns to leave but Harry grabs her by the arms and keeps her in place. "Don't do that."

"What?" she keeps her eyes away from him, not sure she can handle looking at him full on right now, but he tilts her face up with his hand and forces her to face him.

"You've been doing this more and more, especially around me. Withdrawing into yourself. Why? Just tell me."

He makes it sound so simple. Like she can answer his question with a sentence, rather than the entire library she thinks she would need to explain everything.

She tries to drop her head, but he still has his hand on her chin, forcing her to keep her gaze on him. Since she can't look away from him, she tries to focus on his nose, so she doesn't have to look directly into his eyes. He notices, of course, because nothing in her life is easy. "Look at me," he whispers.

She remembers being in this exact position with Ron several months ago, in the parlor, and relishing in having someone finally notice her. Now, she doesn't want it. She wants nothing more than to be left alone.

Harry finally releases her and when he begins talking, his words catch her off guard. "I realized something awful about myself the other day." He doesn't wait for her to respond before continuing. "I'm devastated that Dobby and that other house elf had to die in order for us to make it out of Malfoy Manor alive, but if I had to replay the mission, and was forced to choose one person who wouldn't make it. I would choose Dobby again."

He regards her warily, like he's expecting her to scold him, but she stays silent. She's not going to berate him or give a lecture about house elf rights. She understands.

"But, even though that day at the Manor forced me to learn a terrible truth about myself, it also reminded me that any of us could die at any moment. All of us dodged killing curses and if we'd moved a second too late, we'd be gone."

She nods, not trusting herself to speak as she tries to keep the emotions she'd buried earlier from coming to the surface.

"We're alive, Hermione," he says, his eyes are burning into hers. _For now_ , she thinks, then quickly silences the cynical voice in her head.

He places his hands on her shoulders and shakes her slightly. "You're fading away. You're locking all your emotions up and becoming more and more distant with each passing day." He says this significantly, like he thinks this will be news to her, but she already knows this. "But you're alive, Hermione, and there's no reassurance that'll last forever."

"I know that, Harry," she snaps, stepping out of his grasp. _More than you realize,_ she adds silently.

"Hermione," his voice is gentle. "What's the point of being alive if you're going to turn off all of your feelings? You may as well be dead already."

How can she explain that if she turns on her feelings, she'll collapse? She won't be able to hunt down the last Horcrux, or support Severus, or tell Harry the awful truth of his death at the proper time.

"Tell me what's wrong," he urges when she doesn't answer him. "I want to help you."

"I can't." She takes a breath and tries her best to swallow back the tears. "Please stop pushing, Harry."

He looks at her for a long time, then steps back. "Okay," he says in a resigned tone. "I'll leave you alone, even though every instinct in my body is telling me not to."

She lets out a sigh of relief and his face twists in pain at her rejection. Then with his next words, he unravels all the work she'd done at Severus's to bury her emotions. "You don't have to do everything alone, Hermione. I'm here for you, and I love you."

She loses it and drops her head in her hands as the sobs she's been trying to keep in, since the moment Severus told her Harry had to die, finally escape. Before she can protest, he wraps his arms around her and pulls her against him.

She moves her hands to his shoulders and buries her head in his chest, crying while he strokes her hair. She can feel his heart beating against her head and focuses on its steady rhythm to calm her breathing and eventually stop the sobs. _How much longer will it beat for?_ she wonders. _Years? Months?_

These thoughts are nearly as toxic as all the thoughts of her and Harry together. If she's going to live with him and help him figure out how to find and destroy the snake, she needs to get a hold of herself. She leans back and starts to wipe her eyes, but Harry beats her to it and begins carefully drying her face with his sleeve.

"I'm sorry. I need to be stronger. I just-"

"You are so strong," he whispers, cutting her off. "You're allowed to lower all those walls you put up and cry sometimes. It's probably better if you did it more often, actually," he adds with a smile. "That way, it will be less violent when everything you're holding back finally breaks through."

She wonders if he's thinking back to a few days ago, right after she killed the elf, when she'd fallen apart and cried on his lap for nearly an hour. At least this had only been about ten minutes. That's an improvement, isn't it?

Hermione smiles and nods, then takes a deep breath. "We planned this whole party, and I'm ruining it. Let's go back."

She turns to the door, but stops when he says, "No."

"What?" She turns back to him and looks at him curiously.

Harry climbs onto her bed and sits with his back against the headboard, stretching his legs in front of him. "Come sit with me."

"Harry. We never have people over. We should enjoy them while they're here."

"The whole purpose of the party was to help us feel better. I think sitting here with me, at least for a little while longer, will make you feel better."

Hermione crosses her arms and regards him. Though she's usually the more stubborn one, she can tell that this time, he's not budging. He really is the best person she knows. How is she going to go on without him? Maybe she'll be lucky, and she'll die in the final battle too.

Hermione climbs onto the bed and when she sits next to Harry, he wraps his arm around her and she rests her head on his shoulder. They sit in silence for a few moments, then she tries to sit up, but he keeps a tight grip on her.

"We can go, Harry, really. They'll be wondering where we are."

"Shh," he says. "You're so concerned about everyone else. Let me be concerned about you, just this once."

Hermione lays her head against him again and can't deny that just sitting here with him is helping, as long as she stops thinking about him dying, and just focuses on the feeling of being in his arms.

She needs to figure out how to be normal around him and can't break down into tears every time they're alone together. She also can't completely bury her emotions since Harry has this uncanny ability of bringing them all to the surface. But if she focuses on just being with him in the present, and not on the terrible future ahead of them, she thinks she'll be able to survive the remaining time she has left with him.

"Okay," she says eventually, "but only for ten more minutes."

"Fifteen."

She smiles. "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh, poor Hermione. The next chapter (which will be posted Monday) will be all about Ginny and Draco, so get excited for that delicious angst.
> 
> Thanks as always to my beta reader Lancashire Witch! She's the best.


	10. The Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I said at the beginning this story is dark. Muggles (including children) are killed in this chapter. If that's too much for you, I'd skip this one.

**Part 4 - Opposite Bishops**

_"Hah! Got your bishop," Ginny exclaimed triumphantly._

_"So you have," Draco said absently, studying the board. He motioned toward the remaining black and white bishops that were sitting next to each other. "The only bishops left now are opposite bishops. See?"_

_"Why are they called that? Because they are on opposite colors, so can't attack each other?"_

_He smiled. "Exactly. In the endgame, if both players only have opposite bishops and pawns, it usually ends in a draw."_

_"Opposite bishops," she repeated. "It's like the two of us."_

_Draco finally looked up from the board. "How so?"_

_"We're on opposite sides, but because of this...friendship between us, we won't attack the other. If the whole war came down to the two of us, it would be a draw."_

_"You're so confident I won't attack you, Ginny?" he said with a wicked smile._

_"I am," she replied confidently, then added in a serious tone, "Let's make a pact to never attack the other." She reached her hand over the chessboard for him to shake._

_He looked at her hand for several moments before taking it firmly in his own. "How about we promise not to hurt the other?"_

_"How is that different?" she asked._

_His eyes were haunted when he responded. "I think some of the deepest wounds are inflicted off of the battlefield, and usually by the people we trust the most." She guessed he was thinking about his parents and squeezed his hand comfortingly._

_"Deal."_

_He dropped her hand and looked back at the chessboard and she knew their serious conversation was finished. But before he made his next move, he looked up at her and said thoughtfully, "You have one thing wrong about us, though. We aren't bishops in this war, we're pawns."_

* * *

**Chapter 10 – The Killer**

_October 1999 - Draco's Flat_

Ginny is pacing Draco's flat, waiting for him to arrive. She's trying not to be worried that he's late (especially since the Draco she knew from Hogwarts was obsessed with punctuality). To distract herself, she's planning out what she's going to say when she sees him.

After her revelation from a few nights ago that Draco had probably inadvertently killed Fred in an attempt to save Harry, she's been a bit of a mess. Harry has been really worried about her and she's been at a loss for what to tell him, since she's still trying to figure out how she feels.

She'd trusted Draco so completely at Hogwarts and when she thought he'd turned on her, she had felt utterly betrayed. But it may have just been a misunderstanding. Is it possible he'd been loyal to her this entire time? But in the end, he'd still killed Fred. Maybe not on purpose, but the final result was the same. And now, Draco was a high-ranking Death Eater and had likely killed more people since Fred. What about those deaths?

If she forgives him for Fred, can she forgive those as well? And if she does, there's no guarantee he'll accept it and want to carry on where they'd left off. Hadn't she betrayed him, too? He'd confided in her and trusted her with secrets he hadn't even told his parents. Ginny and Draco knew they were on opposite sides of the war, but they had both promised they'd never hurt each other. Then, as soon as their pact was tested, she'd assumed the worst of him and never once considered there might be another side to the story.

Just then, Draco appears in front of her and Ginny nearly runs into him. She gasps when she sees him. Half of his face is heavily bruised and his arm is in a sling. He's also keeping his weight off of one of his legs. When he sees her, his expression turns from indifference to irritation.

"I told you I'd contact you when it was safe to meet. What's so important?" he spits at her.

Ginny takes a deep breath. Earlier today, when she still hadn't heard from Draco, she sent him a message saying they needed to meet, urgently. It wasn't because of the war or anything, she was just going mad and had to see him so she could finally come to some resolution about this Fred situation. But now she feels guilty. Draco obviously needed more time to heal.

"You look awful. You should take a seat," Ginny motions toward the couch.

"I'll stay here. Tell me what you need."

She struggles to start. This is what she wanted, to talk to him, but she's about to learn whether or not there's still a part of him that can be redeemed, and she's terrified she'll find out the answer to that question is no. She takes a breath and goes for it.

"The night Fred died," she starts. His jaw tightens almost imperceptibly, and he makes his face blank again.

"Why did you move that pillar toward him instead of letting it fall in place?"

"I told you it doesn't matter anymore." He turns to leave but she catches him by the arm, and he winces. She pushes his sleeve up and sees bruises covering the pale skin of his arm.

She gasps as tears sting her eyes. "Why haven't you healed these?"

"I'm not allowed to use magic to heal these wounds. Not unless a mission comes up before they heal naturally." He says this automatically and without feeling.

She nods and pushes the thoughts of him being tortured from her mind with Occlumency. She reminds herself why she called him here tonight. "You sent me that note on the queen: _Some pieces are more important than others._ When you killed Fred, you were trying to save someone more important, weren't you?"

He looks away from her out the window and she thinks he's not going to answer her. Then he sighs and finally speaks. "Are you just now finding out? Don't you Gryffindors talk about everything?"

"I never talk about that day. It's too painful."

She sees him nod in the reflection of the window. "Potter was there, under the cloak. When I saw that the pillar was going to land right where I'd seen his feet, I blasted it away as hard as I could. I didn't mean for it to hit your brother, I'd intended to blast it further, but it was too heavy."

She pulls his cheek and turns his face toward her before dropping her hand. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She sees a hint of sorrow in his eyes, but it's gone in an instant. "I did."

"With that riddle? You should have written: _I did it to save Harry!"_

"Like I said. I assumed it would come up, later, that he was there, then you'd put it together. But no, you assumed the worst. After everything I told you, everything I shared, you still thought I was capable of killing your brother in cold blood."

His eyes and voice were still dead, which made his admonition worse for some reason. Silent tears start to stream down her face, which prompts him to look away from her again.

"I'm sorry, Draco," she whispers, pleadingly. "It wasn't Harry, it was Ron. And I never talked about that day with anyone because the memory of losing my brother and someone I considered one of my closest friends in one go was too painful. I didn't know, until a few days ago, that Ron was even there when Fred died. I should have known there was more to it and- and-"

She's at a loss for words. It pains her that even though Draco's clearly hurting, he won't show her. He won't even show her his anger. He doesn't trust her anymore with any of his emotions. Why would he? Ginny was all he had, she knew that, and she'd abandoned him.

"It doesn't matter, Ginny. In the end, your brother's still dead by my hand. If knowing this makes it easier for you to work with me, then...very well." He pauses to take a deep breath. "If that's all, I should go."

"No, it's not all." She steps toward him, but doesn't grab him this time, not wanting to hurt him anymore than she already has.

"I was awful and said awful things, I thought you'd betrayed me and become one of them. But I should have known better." She places a careful hand on his heart, but he flinches at her touch, making her chest clench painfully.

"You saved my friends from the Snatchers. Then you saved us, the other day at the Manor, even though you knew you'd be punished for it. You've dedicated yourself to our cause and are now putting your life at risk every day. And I just yelled at you and told you I hated you. I'm so sorry."

He nods but he's still hiding all his emotions. She can't even see them in his eyes. She wants to dive into his mind and find them, just to make sure they're still there. That gives her an idea.

"Before you leave, I need to show you something in my mind."

She drops her hand from his chest and looks him straight in the eye. He maintains her gaze for several seconds but doesn't move to pull his wand out. "Please?" she whispers.

His eyes flicker with irritation, which is better than nothing, she thinks. "Fine," he says, then he takes his wand and points it at her head and in a moment, she can feel him in her thoughts. She feels that familiar feeling of a crisp winter day, Christmas Breaks, and flying. She sees his eyes soften slightly when he realizes where she's taken him.

It isn't a memory she's showing him, but the present. She is standing right in front of him, watching him as he regards her warily with his wand still raised to her head. He lowers it slowly but keeps the Legilimency spell going.

"We're both awful at talking about how we feel," she says, and her words echo as she hears them in her mind and through her ears. "But I can show you."

He nods and she feels triumphant, which makes him smile, slightly. The sight of his smile causes her heart to lighten and he widens his smile when he feels her simultaneous joy and relief.

They'd discovered this unique method of Occlumency by accident. It had initially seemed pretty useless, but they'd soon learned it was an incredibly effective way of sharing their feelings. In memories, the emotions are typically muted, except for in rare circumstances. But in the present, when everything is happening in real time, the other person's emotions hit the Legilimens as hard as if they were their own. It was a surreal feeling, and also incredibly intimate.

Emboldened by Draco's smile (the first she's seen since Hogwarts), Ginny lifts her hand and gently places it on the injured side of his face as remorse and concern flow through her.

"It wasn't so bad," he whispers.

"Liar," she whispers back. He smiles again which makes her heart flutter.

She traces a finger down his face and neck as she focuses on the feelings of compassion and caring she has toward him. When her hand reaches his shoulder, she stops and looks back into his eyes and lets the rest of her emotions come to the surface, knowing he'll be able to feel each one. Fear, worry, comfort, admiration.

Draco grabs her hip unexpectedly. Ginny's heart skips a beat and she's overcome with longing and desire. He jumps out of her mind and lets go of her, then takes a long step back. When her eyes refocus on him, she sees he's made his expression blank again. Her heart drops.

Now that they are back in their own minds, is he going to pretend none of that happened? She waits to see what he'll say. If he brushes it off and says he needs to go, she'll know she's lost him for good.

He doesn't try to leave. Instead, he smiles again and says the same thing he did the first time he experienced her feelings like this. "Fuck, Ginny. It's a wonder you're able to stand up under the weight of all those emotions."

Ginny closes the space between them in a second but stops short of throwing her arms around him. Instead, she slowly snakes her arms around his torso, being careful not to hurt him. Draco pulls her against him with his good arm and she buries her head in his chest as he holds her so tightly, she is sure it must be hurting him.

She notices that he smells the same as before and figures he must be using the same cologne. It's weird to think that with so much difference in his life now, he's kept that small part of his routine the same. That thought makes her cry for some reason and silent tears start to fall down her face. She tightens her grip on him, drowning in the comfort of being in his arms.

After a few moments, he leans back and looks down at her. "Why are you crying?" he asks, curiously.

She keeps her head on his chest and her voice is muffled when she replies. "Because I missed you."

"I missed you, but I'm not crying," he points out. It's such a small thing, this admission, but it's so much more than he was giving her just a few moments ago, that she's overcome with emotion again and begins to cry harder.

"Well, I'm a witch and we've already established I have too many emotions," she replies through her sobs.

He folds himself around her again, then starts gently running his fingers through her hair as she tries to get a hold of her sobs. She didn't realize until now how much of herself she was closing off. She hadn't let herself consider how worried she'd been for Draco, how much she wanted him to hold her again, or how big a void not having him around had left in her heart. But all those feelings were buried deep somewhere, and now they are hitting her like a train.

Ginny takes deep breaths and focuses on the feeling of his chest rising and falling until she's finally calm. When she's finished crying, she steps away from him, reluctantly, but knows this embrace must be hurting him.

"Is this why you needed to urgently meet?" he asks. "You needed a hug?"

She lets out a small laugh. "Don't pretend you didn't need one, too."

He smiles, then his eyes turn serious and he picks up her hand with the arm that isn't in a sling. He rubs the ring she wears there with his thumb. Her mum had given it to her ages ago (she can't even remember what the occasion was anymore) and it always makes her think of her family. She's told Draco this and she wonders if he's remembering it now.

"I need to show you something in my mind too."

By the desolation of his tone, she expects he's about to tell her someone else in her family has died and fear grips her at the thought. It's certainly possible. And he would probably know before her.

"Okay," she pulls her shoulders back, trying to brace herself.

"You should sit," he says.

Oh no, this must be really bad. Is it her mum? Is that why he was touching her ring? She sits down on the couch but he doesn't sit next to her. Instead, he crouches on the floor in front of her. He takes several deep breaths and she sees him become the cold Death Eater he was when he arrived tonight.

When Draco speaks, his voice is devoid of all emotion. "I apologize in advance, but you need to know."

Now, she's sure he's about to show her something terrible about her family. She clears her mind as best she can, then holds her wand up to his head before whispering, _"Legilimens."_

She is plunged into a feeling of complete and utter terror. She almost pulls right back out of his mind but forces herself to stay.

Voldemort is right next to her and she recoils as he touches Draco's arm, then realizes it's not her recoiling, but Draco. She reminds herself she's in his mind now and all the feelings are his.

The emotions flowing through Draco in this moment are stronger than she's ever felt in any of his memories, and she's visited the biggest ones in his life: the day he was sorted into Slytherin, his first Quidditch win, and even the night he was forced to take the Dark Mark. The intensity of the emotions from those memories doesn't even compare to what she's feeling now. She struggles to name them all: Fear, remorse, hatred, sorrow, pain.

His mother is screaming violently at the edge of the room and Ginny can see that her eyes are clouded with some type of red mist. Draco's father is holding her, but looking toward Draco, nodding at him with a pleading look in his eyes.

Draco grips his wand tightly and looks forward, where there is a middle-aged man dressed in Muggle clothes whose hands and feet are bound.

"You've failed twice," Voldemort is saying. "I don't think your mother will survive another failure." From the hopeful glee in his tone, it's clear Voldemort wouldn't mind if Draco failed again so he can torture Narcissa further with whatever that red mist is.

The man in front of Draco starts to plead with him. "I don't care what you do with me. Just let my kids go. Take me, but-"

Draco hits him with a killing curse before he can finish his sentence. Relief flows through Draco for a split second, but it's quickly replaced with horror. The feeling of self-loathing in his heart seems to be causing him physical pain. He quells it as best he can, then turns to Voldemort. Draco's voice is shaky when he speaks. "It's done. You can let her go."

"Not yet…" Voldemort says with an evil grin. Draco is overcome with hatred and Ginny guesses he's employing all his self-restraint to keep from attacking Voldemort.

"Let's try it again, but with less hesitation this time." Voldemort's voice is almost a purr. It's disgusting how much he's enjoying this.

"Oh, and Draco."

Draco takes a deep breath. "Yes, my Lord?"

"No wand this time," he holds out a knife to Draco and bile floods into Draco's mouth. Ginny is hit with a feeling of revulsion so strong it almost pushes her out of his mind. She struggles to stay, thinking that she's never had to work this hard to remain in a memory. Then she realizes why. The present-day Draco is trying to push her out. She fights to stay and after a few moments, he stops pushing.

She watches Draco kill a teenage boy and girl with the knife. When he kills the girl, Voldemort scolds him for allowing his hand to shake, claiming it means Draco still feels some sort of empathy toward these useless Muggles. As punishment, he hits Narcissa with some spell that makes her release a savage scream, causing Draco's chest to clench so tightly, that he doubles over in pain.

Ginny has never seen anything so horrible in her entire life and her mind is screaming at her to drop the Legilimency spell and go back to the safety of her present. But her heart keeps her in place.

She knows this is a test of some sort. Draco isn't expecting her to be able to handle the truth of what he's done. But it is also so clear that he hated every minute of what he was forced to do, and hates himself for having killed these people. Ginny knows he'll only give her one opportunity to experience all of this, and she also knows he'll never show anyone else.

So, she summons all the strength she possesses to stay in his mind and suffer through this. It may be terrible for her, and the scenes will cause her nightmares for years to come, but she stays for Draco.

After killing the kids, Ginny is sure Draco must have done enough to please Voldemort, but there's more. Of course there is. Next, a small child, around six or seven years old, is escorted into the room.

Voldemort informs Draco that this time, he wants him to kill the child with his bare hands. Draco stands completely still as his heart and soul break into a million pieces. It feels to Ginny like she's hit with every negative emotion in existence at once and it knocks the wind out of her. She wonders absently if it's having any effect on her body in the present. Then, as suddenly as the emotions came, they disappear.

Everything becomes muted, Narcissa's screaming, the light coming from the lamps in the room, and most notably, the child's cries of fear. Draco approaches the small girl and without a moment's hesitation, smothers her with his cloak, holding down tightly as she jerks, fighting for life. After she goes limp, he waits a full minute before letting her go.

In that minute, he lets one emotion through, but keeps all the rest muted. Ginny is overcome with a wave of self-loathing and she can feel tears spring into Draco's eyes. As soon as that happens, he blinks frantically - obviously scared Voldemort will see - and he quickly buries the self-loathing back into whatever recess of his heart he'd stuffed the other emotions.

Voldemort is impressed when Draco returns to him. "Very good," he says. But he's still not finished. "Now, we'll bring the mother in. You can show her what you've done," he motions toward the four corpses on the ground. "Let her see the bodies of her family. Then, if you can successfully use the killing curse on the first try this time, I'll release your mother."

Compassion floods through Draco when the Muggle woman walks in and falls apart at the sight of her dead family. He quickly replaces the emotion with hate. He summons every ounce of hate he can find and Ginny feels his heart beating violently in his chest. He doesn't wait to cast the curse and the woman falls dead in an instant.

He's turning toward Voldemort, probably to ask if his mother can finally be freed now, when the real Draco firmly pushes Ginny out of his mind.

Back in the present, her own emotions return to her in a torrent. She falls back onto the couch and thinks it was a good thing Draco told her to sit down.

Draco. The images she'd just seen in his mind flood through hers and she experiences them in an entirely different lens. She snaps out of her mind and clears it with Occlumency, trying to focus back on the present. She's never been this disoriented after Legilimency.

Ginny sees that Draco is still crouched on the floor, but he's taken several steps back, just out of reach. When her eyes focus on his, she sees they are swimming with shame. "When you apologized before, you said you were sorry for thinking I'd become one of them. But I am one of them, you see. I'm a Death Eater, and we'll never be able to go back to the way things were."

There are so many thoughts running through Ginny's mind, she's having trouble keeping track of them all.

_He killed an entire family of Muggles._

_His mother was being tortured; he was forced into it._

_The Muggles were dead the second the Death Eaters captured them, weren't they? If Draco hadn't killed them, someone else would have._

_He did it to survive._

_He should have died instead of doing that._

_What would you do if it was your Mum being tortured? Would you be able to do the right thing?_

_What_ is _the right thing? If he'd died that day, he wouldn't be here, able to help our cause now._

She silences the thoughts, using Occlumency again. Instead, she focuses on her heart, which has always served her better, anyway. Her heart is recalling how deeply Draco felt each death he'd been forced to administer. It's aching for the scared, compassionate boy he'd been, who had been destroyed by Voldemort. And Ginny feels a hate so strong, she didn't even think it possible, but it's not directed at Draco - not at all. It's reserved for Voldemort.

Draco may have cast the killing spells and held the knife, but it was Voldemort who had ordered their deaths. It was Voldemort who'd used Draco to do it, knowing it would destroy him. And it was Voldemort who'd used the person Draco loved most, against him.

Ginny is certain if Voldemort had just threatened Draco's life, he wouldn't have done it. But his mother, he loved her more than anyone, because he thought she was the only person in the world who loved him.

Ginny lowers herself to the ground and crawls over to Draco. When she reaches him, she links her arms around his head and buries her face in his neck.

He stiffens. "What are you doing?"

"We've discussed this before," she says into his neck. "This is a hug, commonly used among friends to show you care about them. It's what we were doing just a few moments ago." _Even though it feels like years ago now,_ she thinks, but doesn't say. She knows their relationship from now on will be defined by the time before she saw that memory, and the time after.

"I know what a fucking hug is," he snaps, leaning away from her. "Why are you doing it? Are you stupid? Did you not understand what I was showing you?" his voice is shaking but she can't tell if it's in rage, or in an effort to hold back tears.

"I know what that was. You killed a Muggle family."

"And you still want to hug me?"

"It appears so."

He is looking at her with disbelief. She sighs and drops her head onto his shoulder and is relieved when he doesn't push her away.

"You killed them," she says, "but he gave the order. He made you choose between your mother and them. And if you hadn't done it, he would have certainly killed you, but not before forcing you to watch your mother die slowly."

"She died anyway," he says in a flat voice. Ginny nods. She knew that, but she's not clear on the details. She knows better than to ask now, though.

"I should have let him kill me and my mother. That would have been the right thing to do. It's what your friends would have done. That's what _you_ would have done."

"I have no idea what I would have done if he had my mum. Since I've never been in that situation, and likely never will be, I'm not in a position to judge." This is something she never would have thought she'd say. This is a very Hermione thing to say. But as she speaks the words, they feel right.

It's not Ginny's job to decide whether or not what Draco did was right or wrong. She's not the Wizengamot, or a deity (if those exist). Her job is to do what feels right, and supporting Draco now feels right to her.

She lifts her head to look at him and sees he's regarding her warily. "Look in my mind again," she whispers.

"No, we're done today, Ginny. It's time for you to go."

She tightens her grip on his neck so he can't get up. "Do it," she says sternly. When it looks like he's about to protest again, she adds, "It's the least you can do, after showing me all that."

He clenches his jaw and she feels bad for the low blow, but is desperate to get him to look into her mind, knowing how important it is for him to see what she has to show him.

He nods once, then points his wand at her head and a moment later, they are experiencing the present together through Ginny's mind again.

She looks directly into his eyes. "I see you, Draco. I've seen what you've been forced to do to stay alive. And when I look at you, I don't feel an ounce of hate or disgust."

His eyes fill with tears and her heart aches for him in response.

"I know what you're trying to do, Ginny, but I can't," he whispers, pleadingly.

"What can't you do, Draco?"

He answers in a breath, and she can barely make the word out. "Feel."

Her heart breaks for him as she understands what he's saying. He still has to see Voldemort every day and carry out his orders. The only way he'd managed to please that maniac while killing that family, was to numb all his emotions. If Draco lets them out now, Voldemort will surely notice and try to break him again.

Ginny nods. "I understand."

She tries to pull forth all the compassion she has for him and his impossible situation so he can feel it. Then, Ginny tries to push Draco out of her mind, but he strengthens the spell so he can stay.

"Didn't you want me to push you out?" she asks, confused.

He gives her a small, apologetic smile. "Just a few more moments."

They stay there, kneeling on the floor, just looking at each other for several minutes. Ginny wonders why he wanted to extend the spell, since he's just looking at himself from her perspective. He must sense her confusion, because after he pulls out of her mind, he answers her unspoken question.

"Seeing myself from your point of view it's…" he trails off, looking for the right word. "Intoxicating."

She raises an eyebrow in question.

"You're the only person in the entire world (myself included) who thinks I'm worth something."

She gives him a sad smile since she has no idea what to say to that. But she's glad she was able to show him that someone in the world cares about him.

"We should get up off the floor," he says as he awkwardly pulls himself up to his feet, then extends his hand to help her.

She puts her hand in his so as not to reject his gesture, but doesn't put any weight in it, since she doesn't want to hurt him. She notices as she stands that the leg he's keeping his weight off of isn't the one Harry had injured.

"Why are you limping on your other leg?"

Draco looks away from her. "He shattered the bones in that leg too, to even things out. Needless to say, the Dark Lord's spell was more powerful than Potter's."

At the sound of Harry's name, Ginny swears. "Shite! Harry." She looks to the clock on the wall. She's been here two hours. Harry will surely be worried about her since none of her previous meetings with Draco have lasted longer than thirty minutes.

She goes to the outer robe she'd draped over a chair as soon as she arrived and pulls out the coin Hermione gave her. Sure enough, there is a message in Harry's handwriting: _Are you okay?_

She taps her wand to the coin and sends: _Yes. I'll be home soon._

When she looks back at Draco, she sees him watching her, but can't read any more emotions off him. He looks as unfeeling as he had when he first arrived and she thinks for a bizarre moment that everything that passed between them tonight was all in her head.

"You went back to him," he says, his voice dead.

She drops her head and nods. "I need to go home. My friends are already worried, but I don't know what-" she cuts off. They're going to ask her why she was gone so long. What is she going to say? How is she going to be able to look at any of her friends without bursting into tears?

Draco knows what she's thinking, of course. "Say I was very injured, which is the truth," he adds in an undertone. "Say you spent an hour healing me as best you could, but that it took a lot out of you." He smirks. "I'm sure they know how terrible you are at healing charms?"

She nods back at him, returning his smirk.

"Then, say you stayed for another hour to regain your strength before apparating back, since you didn't want to get splinched."

"That's a very good lie," she says. "Did you come up with that just now?"

He nods. "I'm a good liar," he says soberly. "Being magically drained will explain why you look so exhausted, too."

He approaches her carefully, then places a hand on her cheek. When he speaks, his voice isn't flat anymore, but soft and comforting. "I didn't mean to burden you, Ginny. I honestly didn't expect you to stay in my mind past that first death. I'm sure you felt me pushing you out." She nods. "You'll never be able to unsee it now, and I'm so sorry."

Ginny leans against the palm of his hand and a few tears fall down her face. She feels him rub them away with his thumb. She is completely spent. It's like she's been awake for three days straight, then played an eight-hour match of Quidditch, then helped her mum with a full day of chores. She thinks she could sleep for twenty-hour hours straight, but knows she won't, since as soon as she closes her eyes, she'll see Draco killing those Muggles again.

Draco steps back from her and drops his hand from her face. "We should go." She watches him rearrange his features into a mask of indifference and guesses he's identifying each of the emotions he'd let surface tonight and burying them again.

He gives her a final nod and is about to turn on his toe when she grabs his hand. "Draco, I-"

There are so many things she wants to say, but she can't find the right words.

_Draco, I am not ashamed of you._

_Draco, I don't want you to go._

_Draco, I need you to stay safe._

He gives her a sympathetic look, then lifts her hand to his lips and places a gentle kiss there. Before she can say anything else, he steps back and disapparates.

As soon as he's gone, her mind finds the words she'd been searching for. _Draco, I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ugh, heavy chapter. But I'm glad Draco got a hug. He clearly needed one.
> 
> Continued thanks to my beta Lancashire Witch. I'm on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Wed, Mar-17.


	11. The Ambush

**Chapter 11 - The Ambush**

* * *

_October 1999 - Draco's Flat_

Ginny stays at Draco's flat for nearly an hour before returning to Grimmauld Place. Once he's gone, she begins pacing the rooms as she sorts through her thoughts.

Is it really possible that she loves him? After he killed Fred, and innocent Muggles, and _children_?! What is wrong with her?

She's finding it much easier to condemn Draco for his actions now that he's not standing in front of her. When he was here, all she wanted to do was hold him and make him feel better. He seemed more like a victim in this war than a villain. But he's gone now, and the compassion she felt toward him is fading.

She retches several times in the bathroom as she recalls the memories he showed her. His voice echoes in her mind. _I didn't mean to burden you, Ginny. You'll never be able to unsee it now, and I'm so sorry._

After rinsing her mouth with water, she looks up into the mirror above the sink. _You are such a hypocrite, Ginny,_ she tells herself, as she looks at her reflection. _You told him you understood and that you weren't disgusted, and now look at you. As soon as he's gone you change your mind._

This is normal, she thinks. She's not big on giving emotional comfort (that's Hermione's expertise) but it makes sense that having given Draco so much support would have taken something out of her. She shouldn't be so hard on herself and feel like she needs to solve everything, right this second. She went through a lot tonight with Draco and needs to give herself time to recover.

A small voice at the back of Ginny's mind wonders why up until now, she's always struggled to provide emotional support to Harry, tending to pull away and hold him at arm's length when he is vulnerable with her. But tonight, with Draco, she gave herself to him completely, without hesitation. She was only concerned with what he needed and didn't think about herself once.

Why was it so much easier for her to help Draco? She thinks, maybe, it's because she's always understood him in a way she's never understood Harry.

On the surface, she and Draco are complete opposites. She's a Gryffindor, while he's a Slytherin. She grew up poor and he grew up rich. She has six siblings and he's an only child. She had loving and supportive parents, while his were judgmental and critical. And she is almost entirely driven by her emotions, where as Draco is cool and calculating, always thinking five steps ahead.

But on a deeper level, Ginny and Draco are very similar. They both approach new people and situations with cynicism and distrust (she, because of her experience with Riddle's diary in first year and he, because of his father).

They hide their true selves from the world. Draco, behind sarcasm and arrogance and Ginny, behind pranks and jokes. They both feel things deeply, though they struggle to express their feelings to others.

She cuts off her thoughts, reasoning that she'll have plenty of time to sort through all of this later. She looks around the flat one last time, wishing there were something of Draco's that would make her feel closer to him, but it's just as empty as it was the last time she searched it.

She pulls out the chess piece, but can't think of anything adequate to say, so she returns it to her pocket and goes to get her outer robes. She needs to get home, since she's sure Harry is probably worrying about her.

Ginny gives the flat one final once over, her eyes lingering on the spot in the middle of the room where Draco had last stood, before disapparating back to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

_October 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

When Ginny gets back to the house, she finds Harry waiting for her in the sitting room. He rushes to her when he sees her in the hall and when he reaches her, he gently places his hands on her hips.

"What happened? Why were you gone so long? Are you okay?"

Ginny has Draco's lie on the tip of her tongue. The one about being tired from healing him, then having to wait to regain her strength before disapparating. It would be so easy to tell Harry. Then, he'd leave her alone and she could go to sleep, or at least lie down, since she doesn't think she'll be able to sleep right now.

But Harry deserves better than a lie, and so does Draco. She leans her forehead against Harry's shoulder and sighs deeply. Harry wraps his arms around her and whispers, "Please tell me you're okay. Did he hurt you?"

Her mind flashes to the memories Draco showed her and she starts to cry. Harry's grip on her tightens and she tries to get control of her sobs, knowing this is just going to make Harry think the worst of Draco.

Ginny leans back and wipes her eyes with her sleeve. "He didn't hurt me," she says through her tears. Then she stops to take a deep breath. "Draco would never hurt me," she adds in a clear voice.

Harry nods, though it's obvious he doesn't believe her. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Ginny suggests they go upstairs. Harry looks worried, but nods in agreement and leads the way. Once they get to Harry's bedroom, he sits on the bed with his back against the headboard and Ginny sits in front of him and rests her back against his chest. She reasons it will be easier to tell him the truth about Draco without having to look directly at him.

She takes a deep breath before starting. "Draco and I were friends at Hogwarts."

"I know," Harry says unexpectedly.

"What?" Had Hermione told him? After she berated Ginny for telling Harry about Pucey? Ginny was going to kill her.

"You spent all that time in the Prefects' office with him. I understand a few detentions here and there, but every night, even weekends? That must have been something more."

She turns to look at Harry, but his face is impassive. It wasn't Hermione; Ginny hadn't told her that detail. So, who _had_ told Harry? She was sure none of her friends knew where she was sneaking off to each night. "How did you know that?"

Harry looks down at her and gives her an apologetic smile. "I watched you on the map. I know it's a little creepy, but I - I don't know - I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I liked to watch your dot move around the castle as you went to your classes, studied in the library, and ate in the dining hall. Then I saw you flying around the Quidditch pitch with Malfoy one day."

Ginny nods and lays her head back against Harry's chest as he continues to talk.

"That's when I started watching the map almost obsessively, since I was worried about you. You increased the frequency of your meetings at the Quidditch pitch, then one day, those stopped."

"They closed the pitch," Ginny explains. "Too much fun for the students, and they couldn't have that," she adds bitterly.

She feels Harry nod behind her and keeps her gaze forward.

"I assume Malfoy is the one who taught you Occlumency?" he asks.

"Yes."

"You must have trusted him a lot to open your mind to him." Ginny knows Harry is trying to get her to explain how the hell she ended up being friends with Draco Malfoy, but she doesn't know where to start.

"Was he kind to you?" Harry presses when Ginny doesn't say anything.

Ginny sighs. She was the one who wanted to tell Harry the truth, so she can't just sit here and say nothing. "No, not at first," she says eventually. "He was rude, and snarky, and obnoxious. And in the beginning, I really was in the Prefects' office for detention. He made me play chess with him, I think because Crabbe and Goyle are too stupid to play and the other Slytherins wanted nothing to do with him, since he was a Death Eater."

Ginny smiles as she recalls those nights playing chess with him at the beginning. Merlin, did they hate each other. It's crazy to think about now.

"Detentions with Draco were much better than the detentions the Carrows were giving out," Ginny continues. She shudders at the memory of some of her classmate's injuries after the Carrows had punished them. Neville seemed to suffer more than anyone. Harry wraps his arms around her.

"And the friendship - that happened gradually. We started to talk during chess and over time, we learned more about each other. He wasn't like the others. He hated torturing people and was terrified he'd be forced to kill someone, one day."

Ginny turns to look at Harry and he's biting his lip with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I know Draco was a bully and a prat when you were in school together, but deep down, he's surprisingly compassionate. Or, so I thought."

Harry's jaw clenches, but he stays quiet and Ginny settles back against his chest.

"Draco was the one who told me I had to leave the school. I'd taken a prank too far with the Carrows and the wizard, Amycus, was coming for me. Draco warned me ahead of time and helped me fight them off, so I could escape, then he Obliviated them, so they wouldn't know he'd been the one to help me. If it hadn't been for him, I may have ended up like Luna." Her voice trips over her friend's name and Harry tightens his grip on her.

Ginny takes a break to let out a long sigh.

"Then he killed Fred," Harry provides.

Ginny nods. "Yes. And I felt so betrayed, and duped. He'd fooled me into thinking he was kind and different from all those other Death Eaters, then he went and killed Fred. I hated him, more than Ron did, even."

"But something changed?" Harry asks.

Ginny nods again. "A few days ago, I found out Ron was there when Fred died. I hadn't known that before, since he was using your cloak and as you know, we never talk about that day. I watched Ron's memory for the first time, and I saw Draco notice the cloak fall off him a little, revealing his shoes. When that pillar fell, it was heading for where Ron was standing, and Draco moved it away from him, thinking it was you under the cloak. He wasn't trying to kill Fred."

"I see," Harry says carefully. Ginny can tell he's trying hard to keep an open mind, but she knows how much he dislikes Draco. "So tonight, you confronted him about it?" he asks.

"Yes. And I was right. He didn't kill Fred on purpose. But-" she cuts off and tears fall down her face again. The memory of Draco killing that family is threatening to take over her mind, but she pushes it back.

"It's been over a year since Hogwarts," she continues, "and he hasn't gotten to where he is for nothing. He's…" she cuts off again, unable to put Draco's actions into words.

Harry fills the words in for her. "I assume he's killed other people, since."

She is crying again. "He told me today about a Muggle family he killed. He was forced to do it," she explains as she wipes her tears with her sleeve. "But does that make it okay?"

Harry is quiet while Ginny takes several breaths in an attempt to stop crying.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" he asks after awhile. "Or did you want me to answer that?"

"I'd like you to answer it," Ginny replies.

Harry sighs heavily. "I don't know, Ginny. Snape kills people, too. He has to, to stay in the position he's in - which is invaluable to us. And if Malfoy wasn't a well-placed Death Eater, we never would have gotten that cup. I know I couldn't do what they do, but I appreciate that someone is doing it."

They are both quiet for several moments, then Harry asks, "What was it that had you so upset about tonight? Surely you already knew he'd killed other people besides Fred."

Ginny hesitates. She doesn't want to tell Harry the details, or even admit to viewing Draco's own memories of the murders he was forced to perform. She knows Harry will hate Draco for showing her and won't understand why he did it. When she doesn't respond, he speaks instead.

"Hermione told me that sometimes Snape will explain to her in excruciating detail a recent torture or death he was forced to perform. It's like he's testing her, to see if she'll suddenly give up on him. Was it- was it the same for Malfoy? Did he try to scare you off with a gruesome description or something like that?"

Ginny smiles darkly to herself. Harry is way too perceptive. "Yeah, something like that. I tried my best to be supportive; to channel my inner Hermione," she says with a small smile. "But it took a lot out of me."

Harry looks down at her and waits for her to look at him before asking his next question. "Were you together at Hogwarts?"

"No," she says honestly. She's glad he didn't ask the question a different way, like, _Did anything happen between you two?_ or _Do you like him?_ The answer to both those questions is yes.

Harry's face is blank again and she can't tell if he believes her. "So now, you're going to go back to being friends?"

Ginny shrugs and looks away from him again. "We'll never be friends again like we were. I think I can forgive him for Fred. And the other deaths, it's hard. I feel a mixture of revulsion and compassion. I - I don't know. But it doesn't matter, he's willing to help our side and I need to work with him. Tonight was hard, but I'll be fine. I can do this."

"So that's why he wanted you to be his handler," Harry says thoughtfully.

Ginny nods. "Yes. He wanted someone he already knew, I guess."

Harry pulls her against his chest and kisses her temple. "You are so strong. Both you and Hermione, being handlers on top of the rest of it. I don't know how you do it, but I'm glad you do. Thank you."

Ginny hums in response. She knows she should tell Harry more, like how just before she was forced to leave Hogwarts, she and Draco shared a passionate kiss that still makes her heart race when she thinks about it. And how, tonight, Draco didn't just tell her about people he'd killed, but showed her, and even after seeing that, she was pretty sure she was in love with him.

But it's not worth mentioning just yet. Even if she does love Draco, that doesn't mean they are going to run off and be together. For one, she doesn't know if he feels the same way about her. Also, they're in the middle of a bloody war. And, most notably, she's with Harry, who had been absolutely perfect tonight.

If Ginny were in Harry's position, she doesn't think she would have been as kind. He hasn't scolded Ginny for keeping her friendship with Draco from him, nor has he been judgmental, even though she knows he still doesn't like Draco. He's been supportive of her, and understanding, and she's reminded of how much she loves him. Being in his arms, right now, feels perfect.

How is that possible, when the feeling of being in Draco's arms earlier tonight (which was so different to this feeling now) felt perfect too? How can she simultaneously want to be with two different wizards?

Harry's touch comforts her, while Draco's thrills her. Harry always supports her, while Draco challenges her.

Ginny cuts off this line of thinking. Why is she comparing the two of them? They are incomparable. She's with _Harry Potter_ who is without a doubt the best person she's ever known. He's brave, loyal, respectful, kind, _good._ He'd never kill anyone, not even if his life was at stake. The one time he dueled Voldemort, he used _Expelliarmus,_ of all spells.

Draco, on the other hand, would do anything to survive. He has a darkness in him that Harry doesn't. He's killed innocent people to stay alive; he's killed his own father. He's a pureblood elitist, a Death Eater, a _Malfoy_.

Logically, there's no comparing the two of them. Harry is the clear choice. She can have a future with Harry, even though, admittedly, not the kind of future she wants. Harry is by far the better wizard, but a small part of her thinks he's not the better wizard _for her_.

It makes no sense, and she knows everyone in her life (Draco included) would think her a nutter for it, but even though she's with the famous Harry Potter, the wizard who will probably end up winning this war for them, her heart longs for Draco Malfoy.

Ginny focuses back on Harry when she realizes he's talking. He's asking if there's anything else she wants to say. When she shakes her head, he gives her a final kiss on the cheek before lying down in the bed, suggesting they try to sleep.

Harry lies on his side, facing her, and she matches his pose. He turns out the lights with his wand, then scoots close to her and starts running his hand along her top arm. "If there's more between you and Malfoy, you'll tell me, right?"

Ginny lets out a shaky breath. "I told you, we weren't together at Hogwarts."

"You can be honest with me."

"The same applies to you, Harry," she snaps, then immediately regrets it.

"What?"

"Nothing." She turns to look up at the ceiling. What is she doing? Wasn't she just thinking how considerate Harry had been tonight? And how does she repay him? By being petty. She is the worst.

He has propped his head up on his hand and is looking down on her. "What are you talking about, Ginny?"

She sighs and closes her eyes. "I was talking about you and Hermione, but I didn't mean it, really. I'm just tired."

"Me and Hermione?" She opens her eyes and is surprised to find he looks legitimately confused.

"Yeah," she continues. "You're always together lately. You stayed up with her before we went to the Manor. On both of our previous missions when the group split up, you instinctively went with her. After we killed the elf, it was your arms she cried in for hours. And you ran off to comfort her the night of the party."

"We're just friends."

Now that Ginny had gotten started on this topic, she was on a roll. "Maybe, but that whole thing with Pucey made it seem like more. And you're always bringing her up. Just tonight I think you mentioned her twice, when we were supposed to be talking about me."

Harry is silent and Ginny is thinking of Harry and Hermione together. Ginny hadn't really considered how much time they were spending together lately, until now. Oddly, the thought doesn't upset her - it's more interesting, than anything else. That can't be a good sign, can it?

"We're friends, Ginny," Harry says again. "And she's one of three people I see, like...ever. So she's bound to come up."

Ginny decides not to point out that Ron hasn't come up at all tonight. She sighs and turns back to face Harry. What is she doing? She's the one in love with someone else, not Harry. There's probably just a part of her that hopes he loves Hermione, so that she won't be the only terrible one in their relationship.

"I know, Harry, I'm just being difficult. I'm in an awful mood and I'm tired and stressed. If you say there's nothing going on with Hermione, I believe you."

Later that night, after Harry drifts off to sleep, Ginny is wide awake. She pulls the chess piece out of her pocket and looks at it for a long time, considering if she should send him a message. Ultimately, she decides to send something simple: _Good night, Draco._

He responds almost immediately. Her heart flutters. Was he holding the chess piece and thinking about her, too? She holds the queen out toward the moonlight coming in through the window so she can read his response. _Good night, Ginny._

* * *

_October 1999 - Pucey Estate_

Hermione is standing in the hall just outside Adrian's room. Today is the day she's going to cut him off as an informant. She talked to Kingsley and explained that Adrian had become obsessed with her and she didn't feel comfortable continuing to see him. Kingsley said since they hadn't found any good use for him, they could let him go. The Order couldn't spare any more handlers and Adrian's information had never been very good.

Once Hermione steps into his room, she sees him sitting in the chair by the window, studying the tree outside. At the sound of the door opening, he stands and slowly stalks toward her, his expression blank.

"Hello, Adrian," she says, gripping her wand tightly in her pocket.

"I saw you in the paper," he says, stopping a few feet away from her.

Hermione tightens the grip on her wand as she remembers their previous meeting, when he'd pinned her down and yelled at her for reaching out to Draco. "Yes, I had a mission to steal something from Malfoy Manor."

She knows it's not worth trying to hide this. There was a large article in the Daily Prophet about Harry, Ron, Ginny, and her breaking into Malfoy Manor. The article said they'd been trying to steal a number of valuable family heirlooms. It was an effort by Voldemort's side to continue the narrative that Harry was an unhinged criminal who was threatening the sanctity of the pureblood lifestyle.

"We were successful," Hermione adds with a smile. "And I made it out safely."

Adrian doesn't smile. His face stays blank, but she can see his blue-grey eyes are slightly unfocused. That isn't a good sign.

"Adrian, I came to tell you that for now, we're going to need to stop these meetings. I'll keep the ring you gave me, in case you need to get in contact, but it's safer for both of us to put a hold on this...relationship." She says the word reluctantly.

He doesn't react to her words. It's like he didn't hear her. "I told you not to reach out to Draco, and you said you didn't. Did you lie to me?"

"I didn't lie," she says in a rush. "We broke into the Manor without his help." He can't know Draco is on their side, especially since she knows how bad he is at shielding his thoughts.

"Harry nearly killed Malfoy as we escaped," she adds. "I'm sure you saw that in the paper, too."

His eyes flash with annoyance and she pulls out her wand, ready for an attack, but he surprises her and cups her face in his hand instead. "You need to stay safe, Hermione. Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger?"

"We're fighting a war, Adrian. The fate of the entire Wizarding World is at stake. I can't just ignore that and run away."

His eyes soften and he shakes his head, then, out of nowhere, he backhands her so hard that she goes flying. Her face collides painfully with the dresser. She feels blood flowing down her cheek as she throws up a shield charm and rushes to her feet.

She sees Adrian's face twisted in agony through the translucent shield. "What have I done? I didn't mean to, Hermione. I just want you to be safe."

"Adrian, this is over."

He takes a step toward her but she hits him with a body-bind curse. He falls to the ground and grunts, unable to speak with his jaw clenched shut. She crouches down next to him.

"You're not going to hurt me, anymore. I'm sorry I took advantage of your grief, that was wrong, but this is done. Stay safe, and if you can, maybe find a healer to talk to."

Hermione stands and looks to the mirror above the dresser Adrian has thrown her in to. She considers staying to heal herself before going back home, but doesn't want to be in this room any longer than she has to.

She apparates back to the doorstep outside Grimmauld Place and when she walks inside, she meets Ginny in the hall, who shrieks when she sees her, alerting the boys to her arrival. Hermione rushes upstairs to the bathroom, and all her friends follow her. "What happened?!" Ginny cries, as Hermione fumbles with her wand.

"Obviously Pucey did this," Ron says from behind Ginny. "I thought that was over. You said it was over."

"It is," she snaps at Ron. "I told him today it was done. He didn't take it well, obviously," she motions toward her face, "but I'm not going back there again."

Hermione takes a deep breath and wets a washcloth, then starts wiping the blood that is coming out of a large cut just below her eye. At least she didn't hit her eye. Those wounds are hard to heal. Harry pushes himself into the bathroom and his eyes widen when he sees her. She does her best to ignore him, trying to focus on healing herself. But it's hard, and healing spells are notoriously less effective when you do them on yourself.

"Let me." Before she can protest, Harry has taken her face in his hands and is applying a general healing spell to the cut. It's not the best spell to use for this type of wound. No one else in this house has taken the time to learn any proper healing charms. She'll have to remedy that in the next few weeks.

"What did he do to you?" Ginny asks.

Hermione drops her eyes. She's embarrassed she'd allowed herself to get hurt. She'd had her wand on her the whole time, but he'd still caught her off guard. It's because she'd let him get close to her; that had been a mistake.

"I'm going to kill that fucking idiot," Ron adds.

Hermione's about to tell them all to leave, insisting that she can heal herself just fine, when Harry says, "Can you two leave us alone?"

Ginny looks like she wants to protest, then she shrugs and marches off. Ron cocks his head questioningly at Harry, but when Harry doesn't give any more explanation, he shakes his head and gently closes the bathroom door.

When they're alone, Hermione cocks an eyebrow at Harry, but he ignores her. "It will be easier if you sit up here," he motions toward the counter. Hermione jumps onto the counter and now her face is level with his.

He places one hand under her chin and holds his wand up to her face again, then lowers it and gives her a shy smile. "I'm sure I'm doing the wrong spell. Is this helping at all?"

She smiles and shakes her head.

"Well, you could have told me."

_I was distracted by you touching my face, and demanding we be alone, for no logical reason. And I'm pathetic, and I hate myself._

She sighs and begins to show him the proper spell to use on a cut like the one on her face. She applies the spell to his arm a few times, then he nods and tries it on her wound.

After three tries, he gets it and his eyes sparkle with triumph. There is a warm, tingling feeling on her face and the pain slowly starts to subside.

"Why did you tell them to leave?" she asks, trying to sound casual.

Harry shrugs. "I don't know. I just wanted to be the one to heal you, and it was hard for me to concentrate with all their talking. But-" He cuts off.

"What?"

"I just realized Ginny's going to be angry. She accused me of being secretly in love with you the other night."

Hermione's heart skips a beat. "Oh?"

"I know, it's ridiculous."

Then her heart drops. "Right...ridiculous," she forces a smile on her face, but her disappointment must have shown in her eyes.

Harry stops the spell and tightens his grip on her chin. "Not - of course - I didn't mean," he stumbles through his words.

"It's fine," she cuts in. "I know." She sighs, and searches for something else to say, eager to change the subject. "Did you hear that Ron and Lavender are officially dating?"

Harry smiles and resumes the healing spell. "I did." He grins at her. "Are you jealous?"

Hermione lets out a small laugh. "Not this time. Lavender's a lot more mature than she was in school. I think round two will go better for them."

"Yeah, can't get much worse than round one."

They are quiet as Harry finishes the spell, and Hermione wishes she'd changed the subject further, since there still seems to be some lingering awkwardness between them. When he's done, he takes the washcloth out of the sink and gently wipes the remaining blood from her face.

When he places the washcloth back on the counter, she turns to the mirror and finds her face completely healed. "Thank you, Harry."

He nods but doesn't move out of the way so she can step down from the counter. She gets a sudden urge to wrap her legs around him and kiss him.

_No, Hermione! What is wrong with you?_

Harry's voice cuts into her inappropriate thoughts. "Are you really finished with him?"

"I was finished before today. Now...absolutely."

Harry smiles and lets out a sigh of relief. "Good. I'll be able to sleep again on Monday nights."

He finally leaves her alone in the bathroom and her heart is racing from his last words. _Stop!_ She tells herself. _He didn't mean it like that. He's with Ginny! He's with Ginny! He's with Ginny! And he just called the idea of being in love with you ridiculous._

She decides to take a bath to calm down, then, afterward, she'll go find Ginny and try to smooth things over. She _has_ been spending a lot of time with Harry lately. Ever since learning about his inevitable death, she wants to enjoy the time she has left with him. She didn't know it was upsetting Ginny, though.

Ginny has seemed so distracted by her drama with Draco, Hermione is surprised she noticed Harry and her. Ginny had finally confided in Harry about being friends with Draco in school, then the other day, she'd admitted it to Hermione and Ron, while Hermione stayed quiet and pretended it was the first time she was hearing about it.

However, Hermione still suspects there is more to the story than Ginny had admitted. She claimed she and Draco weren't together at Hogwarts, but there is an unmistakable longing in Ginny's eyes every time she speaks of Draco. And Hermione had sensed this same longing in him when he spoke of Ginny.

Hermione puts her earrings and Snape's necklace back on, then wraps her robe around her before returning to the bedroom, ready to talk to Ginny. Hermione sees her friend sitting in the chair at the far end of the room. As she rises to standing, terror flows through Hermione once she realizes the person is not Ginny.

"Well, well, if it isn't my least favorite Mudblood." Hermione screams as Bellatrix hits her with a stunning spell and everything goes black.

* * *

_October 1999 - Grimmauld Place_

When Hermione regains consciousness, she's bound to a chair and gagged. Harry, Ron, and Ginny are similarly bound and they are all in the sitting room of Grimmauld Place.

"Ahh, she's finally waking up. Now, we can get some answers." Hermione flinches when she realizes Bellatrix is crouched right behind her, whispering in her ear. The only other person in the room is her husband, Rodolpho Lestrange. Hermione doesn't know if it's a good or bad thing that it just seems to be the two of them. If this was a larger operation, they may have informed Draco or Severus, who could have warned them.

"I've been tasked by the Dark Lord to find your Seer and kill her," Bellatrix is saying in her high, almost girly voice. "One of the places on my list to check was your old Headquarters. I found it very intriguing how many wards were placed around a house that was supposed to be uninhabited."

Hermione looks around and sees both Harry, Ron, and Ginny are struggling to get out of their binds. She wishes they would stop and save their energy. There's no way to physically break out of the magical binds. Their energy would be better spent harnessing their magic to cast a wandless spell.

At the thought, Hermione remembers she's wearing her necklace. Thank God she thought to put it back on after her bath. She focuses on the magic flowing through her veins, then sends it toward the necklace, making it burn once. Severus had made her practice activating the necklace without a wand multiple times when he first gave it to her, and she's glad for that now.

One burn means danger. She just hopes Severus can get to them in time, then figure out a way to help them without blowing his cover. He hasn't replaced the pendant with a new poison, so if Hermione is captured by the Death Eaters, she won't have a way to kill herself.

Bellatrix is explaining how she broke the wards around Grimmauld Place using her blood tie to the Black family. "Once I broke in, I didn't find the Seer, but Harry Potter himself," she finishes with a mad smile.

Bellatrix pulls a knife out of her robes and looks wickedly at Hermione. "I'm going to turn you all into the Dark Lord, but first, I need some information." She pushes the point of her knife into Hermione's neck. "Tell me, Mudblood, where is the Order hiding the Seer?"

She removes the gag from Hermione's mouth and pushes harder on her neck. "They haven't told us," Hermione says, her heart is pounding hard in her chest and she's trying to ignore how afraid she is. "We don't work with the other Order members. We're on a separate mission."

Bellatrix pushes her knife even harder against Hermione's skin and Hermione is surprised she hasn't drawn blood yet. "Don't lie to me, girl. I'll slice you up and we'll all be better off for it. One less Mudblood sullying our world."

Both boys are screaming through the binds now. "I think one of 'em will tell you." Lestrange motions toward Harry and Ron.

"Fine," Bellatrix turns to Harry. "Release Potter's binds. Let's hear what he has to say."

"Don't hurt her," Harry says, as soon as Lestrange pulls the gag out of his mouth. "Take me, ask me whatever you want. But leave her alone. She doesn't know anything. She's just...an assistant."

Bellatrix looks back at Hermione and Hermione tries to keep the annoyance out of her eyes. Assistant? She knows Harry is just trying to protect her, but still. _Stay calm, Hermione,_ she tells herself. _Now is not the time to lose your head._

"I think I'll keep playing with her," Bellatrix says, "and see how much I need to make her bleed until you start talking, Potter."

Bellatrix nicks Hermione's neck with the knife and Hermione feels warm blood flow quickly down to her chest. She looks down and sees the top of her white robe is stained a bright red. Harry's eyes widen in horror but she shakes her head at him.

The centaurs said he couldn't win without the Seer. Surely, he won't give up Trelawny's location for her. There are thousands of lives at stake. Hermione tries to tell him this with her eyes, but he's focused on the bleeding wound on her neck.

He looks back at Bellatrix. "Heal her and I'll tell you."

Bellatrix looks at Hermione and scoffs. "She's fine. It's not an artery, just a small vein. It will take at least thirty minutes for her to bleed out. Now start talking."

"I won't talk until my friends are safe. Heal her and unbind them, then you can take me wherever you want. I'm sure your master will be pleased with you for bringing me to him."

"Harry, now is not the time to be a hero," Hermione says, speaking in an urgent tone. "The Seer is more important than me, and you are more important than all of us. Don't -"

"Silence her!" Bellatrix yells. Lestrange crosses the room and hits Hermione so hard in the head that she loses consciousness on her way down to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hermione is having a really rough week. Thanks as always to my betas, Lancashire Witch and Kimmeh B. Find me on Tumblr at Alexandra-Emerson.
> 
> The next chapter will be posted Fri, Mar-19.


End file.
